


Sanity and In Between

by phoenixreal, SapphireTou



Category: Bleach
Genre: Acceptance, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Asexuality, Autism, Bi-Gender Character(s), Bigender, Bisexuality, Blood and Gore, Bounty Hunters, Bullying, Burlesque, Cabarets, Coming Out, Demisexuality, Drag Queens, Emotional Manipulation, Explicit Language, F/F, F/M, Family Feels, Faux Queens, Fem Ichigo, Gaslighting, Hate Speech, Heterosexuality, Homophobia, Homosexuality, Hurt/Comfort, Identity Issues, Intersex, Kidnapping, Lime, M/M, Mental Anguish, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Phobias, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological Torture, Rape/Non-con Elements, Rescue, Revenge, Serial Killers, Sex Talk, Sexual Content, Sexual Identity, Stalking, Tarantula - Freeform, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Torture, Transgender, ablism, drag kings, non binary, non binary Ichigo, pansexuality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-21
Updated: 2014-06-09
Packaged: 2018-01-13 07:50:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 21
Words: 123,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1218325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phoenixreal/pseuds/phoenixreal, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SapphireTou/pseuds/SapphireTou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ichigo Kurosaki spent much of his life wrestling with his own identity. After high school he decides that he’s finished with wearing masks. He comes out to his family, revealing that he’s gay and wants to start cross-dressing as a way of life. With his family supporting him, he finds his way into Las Noches, a cabaret lounge that features a house band, a drag troupe, and a burlesque show. Things seem to be looking up and his life is quickly becoming fulfilling. <br/>Things change one night on stage when a dress he is given burns his skin, and a bounty hunter comes forward claiming to know what’s going on. He’s been targeting by a pair of sadistic serial killers that he’s pursued from Germany across all of Europe and Asia. </p><p>Ichigo is strong willed, though, and refuses to let the threat of these people ruin his life. Between Grimmjow and the mysterious INTERPOL agent named Shiro, can they manage to keep him alive and out of the hands of those that want to torture and murder him? Can Grimmjow keep his head together while steadily falling in love with someone marked for death?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Las Noches Cabaret and Lounge

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: WELCOME readers! This is a lovely plot bunny granted to me by the wonderful Sapphiretou over on FF net. I am taking it and running like HELL folks. Now, please remember, while I am doing the writing, the basic idea was a fic request, and not all the elements are mine. I consider this more of a collaborative piece than a fic request.
> 
> This is going to have OOC Ichigo and others. I'm feminizing Ichigo more than usual, almost to the point of bringing him into transgender realms, non binary is my thinking. He would be considered more of a fem than he is in my other fics, and the reason is that I've never written him like this. I'm taking the opportunity to experiment with the softer aspects of the character, while trying to retain the features that make the character who he is. This means he's going to pop a fem attitude now and then, however, he is more than willing to kick someone's ass when they mess with his friends.
> 
> This is more of a psychological thriller than anything else. But please be warned, I have not decided how far to take the psychological manipulation and torture, nor have I decided how much physical torture will be included. When we get there I will let readers know so if you are bothered by blood, guts, rape, whatever I throw in there that these sadistic antagonists decide to do to our sweetheart Ichi, then you can skip out for that section.
> 
> There will be some homophobia and hate speech in this story. And I have to note that yes, this is stuff I've heard. I'm basing Ichigo off a dear friend that came out the year he became my roommate, and Wonderweiss is very much based on a child dear to me with aspergers. Thank you for reading.
> 
> Please forgive the grievous errors currently present. This story was early in my writing and in my gender identity journey. I'm going to do a over edit, then hand it to my beta to catch what I missed. There's some phrasing that's wrong, and needs to be changed.
> 
> Author’s Notes  
> From Bev and SapphireTou
> 
> This is an alternative universe fanfiction. All characters are placed in a universe of my creation. This is a collaborative piece written by phoenixreal (http://archiveofourown.org/users/phoenixreal) with SapphireTou (http://archiveofourown.org/users/SapphireTou/). The plot bunny is thanks to SapphireTou as are many of the backstories belonging to the characters.
> 
> Chapter One features a Cameo of the beautiful LittleBear the Bearded Lady, https://www.facebook.com/littlebeardedbear/.
> 
> Warnings  
> This is a yaoi fanfiction. This is rated M. This contains non-explicit sexual content. This story includes shonen-ai, soft sex scenes, and vulgar language. This story also contains violence and acts of mild and non-graphic torture. This story is not intended to be read by individuals under the age of 16.
> 
> Disclaimer  
> We do not claim ownership of any part of the Bleach universe or of the Bleach characters. Tite Kubo owns this amazing world; we are simply playing within it. Original elements do belong to us. There is no copyright infringement intended and we in no way make money from writing or posting this work of fanfiction.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichigo comes out to his father after hiding from everyone that he is not only gay, but feels more comfortable dressing as a girl. His father accepts him, and his sisters are excited. He is introduced to his cousin Uryuu's boyfriend who performs at Las Noches, the local Cabaret where the Dangai Drag Troupe and the Heiniko Burlesque Troupe regularly perform. He is introduced to a world where he is normal, and for once, he feels like he belongs.

* * *

Perhaps Isshin Kurosaki should have known his son Ichigo was different than his schoolmates. Of course, he did know, but he didn’t acknowledge it because it was just his son. He had no desire or designs on making his son conform to his own definition of what he should be. Isshin wasn’t like some other fathers he had encountered in his day. He was an educated man, a doctor, and he had seen a lot in his time. Besides, he also had a pair of twin daughters, Karin and Yuzu, who were four years younger than their older brother. Isshin was a single dad, his wife having died eleven years before. Masaki had been the center, the very heart of their family, and Isshin couldn’t look at another woman anymore without seeing her face. Thus, he’d resigned himself to a long, lonely life as an old single widower. Until then, though, he had three children he loved more than words could ever express. He had thought that they could never really surprise him. He’d seen it all, after all. Still, it had been Ichigo that had surprised him the most.

Looking back, perhaps his girls saw their brother much more clearly than their father because neither of the girls were the least bit surprised. The announcement came almost exactly a month after Ichigo turned twenty. It wasn’t that Isshin was upset, of course not, he loved his son beyond all else, and he knew that his mother would be proud of him no matter what he did in his lifetime. He was simply surprised; that was all. Truth be told, he was surprised at himself for not seeing it more than anything. After all, the boy had lived in his house for twenty years. Shouldn’t he have realized something this important?

He had to give his boy credit; he had a flair for the dramatic. That should have been a clue. He’d always been so close to his mother as a little boy, clinging to her like some sort of lifeline. When she was killed in a mugging when he was nine, he was destroyed, and spent weeks mourning for her. Eventually, he came out of it for his sisters. He could see that they were hurting too, so he wanted to help and be a good big brother. He was always a tearful child though. After her death, though, he didn’t cry openly anymore, he only cried when no one was looking. As a father Isshin knew. He caught the tearstained pillowcases in the wash now and then, and more than one morning he saw that Ichigo awoke with puffy eyes that indicated he’d fallen asleep crying. Isshin figured that Ichigo should know that he could talk to him. He thought he knew that, at least.

Then there were the times Ichigo had been helping with the wash and he’d walk by and see him holding one of the Yuzu’s outfits against himself. Of course, it was Yuzu’s outfits; Karin hated anything that looked remotely like it belonged on a girl. He thought at the time he was simply folding, but now, he realized what he was doing. And in twenty years, he brought many girls home. Yet he dated none of them. In fact, his closest friends were Orihime, a beautiful girl who was a little spacy, Arisawa, who he met as a child in martial arts, and Uryū, his cousin and an aspiring fashion designer.  Uryū and he weren’t actually related, but Masaki Kurosaki and Kanae Katagiri,  Uryū’s mother, had been best friends when they were younger. The four spent hours together watching movies and talking about other boys and girls. Perhaps he should have listened to who was speaking about boys, and who was speaking about girls. Because apparently, Arisawa and Orihime were dating each other, and Uryū was dating a boy named Szayel. And then there was his son.

He had other friends, of course. A tall Spanish boy named Sado, a couple other boys from his class, Mizuiro and Keigo, and there were a couple other girls that came for study group now and then. Mizuiro and Keigo were constantly talking about girls and everyone teased Mizuiro because he looked so young, and seemed to get dates with all the girls he wanted, while Keigo was constantly falling flat with the girls. But there was still something that told Isshin that they all were quite aware of his son’s preferences. Of course, as a father, it made him feel entirely stupid for not seeing what was in front of him. Masaki would have known; he was certain of that fact. She certainly wouldn’t have missed something so enormous as the fact that their only son was definitely not straight and probably never had been.

It was as normal as most days go in the Kurosaki household when Isshin would realize his blindness. It was a rare day that everyone was off and out of school. Summer break was going on for the girls, now fourteen, and Ichigo wouldn’t be starting college for a few more weeks when he’d move to the dorms. They had determined to enjoy themselves over the summer since Ichigo would move out soon and head toward his future. And the future was the topic of discussion. Ichigo had spent the last couple of years taking classes at a local school remotely, filling in basic requirements before he decided to go on to the major he wanted to choose. He, despite all appearances, was still very much attached to his family and very reluctant to leave. The end of this year, however, had seen the end of the basics he had been taking and it was time to decide what classes he would enroll in next year. He also could no longer avoid attending class in person.

“So, my wonderful son, what is it that you will do in school? Doctor? Lawyer?” Isshin asked, smiling at his only son.

“Um, I dunno, pop,” he said, and Isshin noticed that he was playing with his food more than eating it.

Isshin frowned briefly. He never seemed so unwilling to speak out. He started to say something but instead dropped the subject. If he wanted to talk, he would talk. At least, that was the way he thought it should work. He’d done a good job teaching his kids that they could tell him anything and that he was open an accepting. However, as he glanced up and saw the way his eldest was avoiding his gaze, he knew that he perhaps had not been as clear as he thought on this subject.

“Ichigo, eat!” Karin said, popping him on the back of the head from her position at the table beside him.

He gave his little sister a deathly glare. “Ichigo?” Isshin asked with a sigh and put his own chopsticks down slowly staring at the boy. “What is it?”

“It’s just, I kinda have something I need to tell you…and…I don’t know what you’ll say,” he said finally, leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest nervously.

Isshin frowned and watched his son. He was avoiding eye contact; his back was stiff and he was covering a tremble in his hands. In that moment, he couldn’t have looked more like a child if he had still been one. Isshin gave a sad smiled and saw that little boy with big teary brown eyes staring up at him, his wild orange hair sopping wet from the rain in the hospital room asking why mom didn’t wake up again.

“Son, I love you, no matter what you are about to say. Tell me, please, what’s going on?” Maybe he didn’t want to go to school? Maybe he had a different life in mind that he hadn’t discussed with him before? Maybe he’d chosen to drop out and not finish? Maybe he’d found a secret lover and they were going to elope? Maybe he got someone pregnant?

“I’m…it’s just that, I know you expect a lot out of me and I don’t want to disappoint you and I don’t know if you’ll still see me the same way because I need to tell you that I’m actually and always have been gay and I’m getting into cross-dressing because I feel more comfortable dressing in feminine things than I do dressing as a guy but I don’t know if I’m even a guy really or what I am and I can’t seem to get all this straight in my head and I know…”

Isshin blinked. “Whoa!” he said, stemming the tide of words tumbling after his son’s mouth.

Ichigo looked up at him, face turning several shades of pink and red. “Sorry.”

Isshin blinked. Okay, so his only son was gay and wanted to dress as a girl, and was also confursed as to his gender identity. Of all the things that could have come out of his son’s mouth he thought that this was perhaps the most unexpected thing in a long time. “Son, slow down. I already told you I would love you no matter what you do in life, didn’t I?”

Ichigo lifted his eyes from his hands which were twisted with each other in his lap. “Yeah, but this is…this isn’t just choosing not to be a doctor…or just going down a different path…I’m…I’m different in a lot of ways…”

“Nope, son, this is what you are, and I’ll love you always no matter what, though I admit, I’m surprised…” he said, and glanced at both his daughters who were giving him their patented “you are such an idiot dad” look meaning that they knew already.

“But surprised doesn’t mean it changes anything, you’re still my child, and your mother would be proud of you too for being yourself and not pretending to be something you’re not,” he said with a sigh.

So, his image of Ichigo having a wife and kids was probably dashed but he’d get over it. That was his image, not his son’s image, so he had to remember that. And there were always adoptions, after all…so he would still have grandkids one day to spoil, he was sure. Ichigo loved children, and always had. He shook his head out of that. He had to stop laying expectations on him even if he only did it in his own head. He had no idea what Ichigo wanted anymore. He’d always agreed with Isshin and went along with what he said. Had it all just been to make him happy? He swallowed and tried to smile at his son. Tugging at his brain, though, was the self-doubt that perhaps he hadn’t been as good of a father as he thought.

Yuzu clapped. “Yay, we get to dress up Ichi-nii! And I get to go clothes shopping with him!”

Karin rolled her eyes. “Out of all this, you’re looking forward to clothes shopping with our brother…” she said with a sigh. “Looks like I’m the boy outta this family now!” she said with a grin.

Ichigo snorted, cutting his eyes at her and sighing. “Karin, you always were…”

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

 “You told him?” Uryū said with hands clasped in front of him excitedly as they sat in the ice cream shop.

Ichigo nodded, fingers fiddling with the hairs at the base of his neck. He’d stopped getting his hair cut a couple weeks before and it was really a challenge not to relent and just cut it again. He was finding that growing out his hair was going to be one of the more annoying parts of this lifestyle he’d chosen to come into. He smiled at Uryū and for a moment was jealous of him. He looked so normal, sitting there with his smartly cut straight black hair, his simple glasses, and his very male appearance. He wore polo shirts, button up shirts, and rarely did anything outlandish with his looks. He was so simple and for a moment Ichigo felt the gut-wrenching desire to be “normal” just like him. He shook it away. He had to stop thinking like that. Uryū was just as gay as he was, but he dressed like a man, and he was a man, and unlike Ichigo, he knew he was a man. He wasn’t struggling to understand his identity.

“Yeah, I did,” Ichigo said, smiling down at his ice cream. “Finally, last night. I just couldn’t do it anymore. I felt like I was being fake all the time, you know? Every time I went out I’d look at myself and think that it was someone else looking back, I just couldn’t do it anymore. Karin and Yuzu have known forever, I think. Yuzu can’t wait to go clothes shopping… I swear she’s more excited about it than I am.”

“And? How’d he take it?” Uryū said, leaning forward and pushing his glasses up again.

He was remembering his own revelation to his father about his sexuality. It hadn’t gone as well. There had been a lot of swearing and telling him he was too young to know that sort of thing. Of course, Uryū had been twelve at the time. Uryū, like his father, was very seriously minded and knew flat out from the time he was eight he didn’t have any interest in girls at all, and by the time he was twelve had confirmed that he was only interested in other boys. His father didn’t take the news well.

“Well, surprised, but said mom would be proud I wasn’t hiding what I was,” Ichigo said, taking another bite of his sundae, hot fudge with marshmallow cream and drizzles of strawberry sauce.

“Uryū-kun!” came a sing-song voice from the entrance. Both looked up to see a flamboyantly dressed man with long pink hair coming their way.

Uryū smiled and shook his head with a sigh at the man. He wore tight stone washed blue jeans and a light blue frilled shirt with a pair of black stiletto heeled boots. Everyone glanced up as he came in; he was certainly not hard to notice. There were a few odd looks at his seemingly girlish façade and his masculine voice. Ichigo noted that someone made some comment about “fucking fairies” and Ichigo bit his lip, knowing painfully well that he was going to have to contend with that sort of thing soon enough. He’d have to learn to deal with it.

“Oh!” he said as he sat down beside Uryū and looked at Ichigo. “Is this your cousin you told me about?”

“Yeah, Ichigo, you’ve heard enough about him, here’s Szayel in all his flaming, out of the closet glory,” he said with a smile at the slightly older boy with the golden eyes and ready grin. “I don’t think he so much as came out of the closet as burned it up from the inside out,” he muttered.

Szayel reached out and took Ichigo’s hand lightly and grinned at him. “Oh my goodness, you are a doll!”

Ichigo blushed to his roots. “Ah, yeah, thanks,” he stammered.

“Uryū, how have you kept this gem hidden so well? There wasn’t any kissing cousin action I missed was there?” Szayel said with a lifted sculpted brow. If nothing else, Szayel had the perhaps most immaculately manicured nails and waxed brows of anyone Ichigo had ever seen.

Ichigo’s eyes went wide and he shook his head and he looked at Uryū who was making a disgusted face. “No, Szayel, no way. We’re not technically related, our mothers were best friends. But we grew up together so we’re like brothers,” Uryū said with a firm headshake.

Szayel sighed. “Ah, well, a boy can hope, kissing cousins are pretty hot…” He looked at them. “Well, so are kissing brothers but that’s another thing.”

“Szayel, you are such a pervert!” Uryū said, sighing in obvious exasperation.

“And you love it, Uryū-kun, you’re just as dirty in bed…” he said, letting go of Ichigo’s hand and sliding one under the table, making Uryū wince and glare daggers at his boyfriend.

“Ew, no details,” Ichigo said, wincing. “Thank you very much.”

Both the others laughed at the red faced redhead. “Anyway, so Uryū says you’re interested in going drag, possibly become a cross-dresser in life as well as on the stage, and he suggested that you might be more like me, genderfluid or trans of some sort. Says you’ve been a bit questioning of your gender identity lately, it’s an adventure, love. First thing I’ll tell you that it is fine if your identity changes along the way. But he says you are pretty firm on wanting boys for a partner. You wanna come down to the club tonight? I’m on stage; we do a show most nights, two on weekends. Tonight, we’ve got a big one, though; the burlesque group is performing after us and we have a special guest coming in from American that’s performing with them.”

Ichigo nodded, excited to finally be around other people that were like himself. “But…I don’t have anything really to wear to a club…” he said, gesturing to the jeans and t-shirt he wore. He didn’t want to admit that he did have some “guy” club clothes, but nothing that he wanted to wear on his first night out in public out of the closet. He wondered thoughtfully if the reason the phrase out of the closet was used was because gay guys tended to dress really well and had a lot of clothes.

“Sweetheart, you are coming to raid my closet,” Szayel said, grabbing him by the hand and dragging him out the door, leaving Uryū to catch up. Luckily, both had managed to finish their ice cream before Ichigo was summarily kidnapped by the pink haired vixen.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Szayel lived relatively close to the ice cream shop they’d been in, and before long Ichigo found himself in a lavishly decorated bedroom. Apparently, he liked leopard print because everything in his bedroom had it. The rest of the apartment had been stylishly decorated, though minimalistic in style choices. The bedroom, however, was another story. A huge canopied king bed with black curtains around it, a beautiful antique dresser and nightstand with intricate carvings, and an enormous wardrobe were only the beginning of what made the room impressive.

“Here, this,” Szayel said, emerging from the walk-in wardrobe with an outfit. “Try this one, sweetie!”

Ichigo blushed but was shoved into the en-suite bath and slipped out of his jeans and t-shirt and gaped at the outfit he’d been handed. He debated leaving the room and saying he’d declined to even think that he could dress like this. Nope, he was going to try it. He shimmied into the dark denim pants. They were embellished with embroidery down the sides of the legs and there was a subtle sheen to the denim. He realized they were impossible to wear with his boxers on, however, so he removed them and tried again, finally getting into them. He wondered if they were supposed to be this tight…

He picked up the corset style top, obviously tailored for a man to wear, and put it on, and followed it up with the jacket that matched the pants he’d put on. It left the front of his midriff open, but he thought he looked good in it. He smiled because it was incredibly feminine, if not completely his style. He liked the embroidered jeans though. He emerged from the bath and saw he was being stared at hard by his cousin and his new friend.

“Holy fuck me sideways, aren’t you a hot little thing,” Szayel muttered, clapping his hands together. “Here, wear these,” he said, handing him a pair of platform heels. They weren’t very high, but added an inch or two, and certainly did amazing things to his ass.

“I am so introducing your sweet little ass to Shinji,” Szayel muttered, turning him around once the outfit was complete. “If he doesn’t invite you on stage, there is something wrong with him…”

“On stage?” Ichigo asked, his brow crinkling.

“Oh yes, on stage, honey. Uryū-kun here agrees, I can tell he’s dying to put you in drag. You would kill, honey. Well, we can make that happen. Come on, we’ll get there before they open and you can meet Shinji, Uryū likes to fret endlessly over the outfits before the big shows like tonight so he’ll want to leave soon anyway.”

Before long, Szayel had disappeared into the closet and emerged again with an outfit in a black garment bag and grinned. “Let’s go!”

They made their way to the waiting car and Ichigo was beside himself. He was going to meet people that liked to dress like he did, people that didn’t think it was weird. Maybe people that could help him understand his gender and sexuality. He wouldn’t be the odd one anymore. The thought itself was exciting beyond belief. Most of his friends from school were so very normal. And by normal he meant they fit the established societal norms. He was coming to realize that normal was indeed a thing relative to where one was in their life. He blinked and they were outside a rather plain looking building with an unlit sign at the top that read Las Noches.

He smiled to himself as he got out, stumbling a bit in the heeled shoes. He supposed he should get used to that. Szayel grabbed him by the hand and practically drug him into the club. The inside was simply beautiful; it was the only way to describe it. The stage, of course, took up most the front, replete with rich, velvet curtains of deep red tied back with vibrant gold tassels. The back was lined with black velvet. The stage jutted out in a semi-circle and had steps going down either side and a pathway around it and down the middle of the front area that led all the way to a door on the opposite side. All around the stage there were tables with lush comfortable chairs trimmed in red and black velvet. The tables were gold and ornate pedestal tables with cloths of red and a single red rose in a black vase in the center of each. Around the outside, the tables were pub height, and against the opposite wall there was a large, ornate bar of the same wood the stage was made of. Against the far walls out of sight of the stage were a series of booths against the wall opposite a large screen, no doubt to have the stage show on it as people sat there.

There were no interior windows, but the walls were heavily draped with thick velour and velvet drapes of black, giving the whole place a soft and warm feeling to it. In the center, right above the semi-circular protrusion of the stage, a bright replica of the moon hung from the ceiling. Szayel smiled.

“When the lights go down, there are holes in those black drapes. They flip the lights behind and it looks like the whole room is filled with millions of stars,” he said with a wink. “The moon up there changes its light according to the real moon phase too. It glows softly, and from down here, with the lights out, you would swear you were outside under the real thing.”

“Holy hell, who is this angel?” came a voice from the back.

“Shinji, I don’t think holy, hell and angel belong in the same sentence,” Uryū said, shifting his glasses on his nose. “But this is my cousin, Ichigo.”

Ichigo turned to see a beautiful man in drag. He had long, perfectly straight blonde hair that cascaded down his back with straight across bangs framing his pale face. He had a wide smile, and wore a generous amount of jewelry. His outfit was relatively simple, a long black pleated skirt and red kitten heels. His blouse was a simple button down, with a modest chest built underneath. If Ichigo hadn’t known he was going to be meeting Shinji, a drag performer, he would have thought that it was indeed a woman. He was gorgeous, honestly.

Shinji came forward and looked him over and then shook his hand in a decidedly manly grip, in complete opposition to his appearance. “Look at you, son of a bitch, you are fucking hot.”

“Don’t mind Shinji, he’s got a mouth like a sailor,” Szayel said, flicking his pink hair over his shoulder with a huff.

“Ah, screw you, bitch,” he said, grinning. “Just because I’m not prissy like you bunch,” he said, laying a hand on his hip.

“You look prissy enough in that, honey,” Szayel retorted.

Shinji sighed. “Ichigo, see, there’s two types of drag performers around here, you’ve got the divas, full time cross dressers, like Szayel here, who prefer to dress in women’s clothes the rest of the time too, and then you’ve got the boys like me. I dress like this to perform; but otherwise, I dress in men’s clothes. I see you got attacked by Szayel’s closet…I take it you’re new to this?”

Ichigo nodded. “Yeah, I just came out to my pop last night, and…um…I guess I’m more like Szayel…because I like women’s clothes more…”

Shinji smiled. “Honey, nothing wrong with that! I’m more comfortable dressing in men’s clothes most of the time. But I’m a man, and as you know, Szayel over there isn’t. If you want to wear a dress every day, you go for it. Decide you’re a woman, and go all the way and your bits given the reversal of fortune, go ahead, though I think that would be so much less fun… I’d miss my dick. Anyway, my point is, you dress how you want and how you feel comfortable. We got all kinds here, cross dressers, drag queens, straight folks, transgender folks. And don’t mind me, I pick on the femmes. You’ll see the same thing with some of the others, the butch girls pick on the lipsticks, and vice versa. Did they tell you what we do here?”

Ichigo nodded. “A bit, you run the drag troupe, um, the…uh…Dangai, right?”

“Yup, that’s us. We have both women and men in the troupe, and we switch roles sometimes, we do singing, lip syncing, dancing, strip teases, though we aren’t strippers, don’t make that mistake, small skits, whatever we have on line for the night. And then we have the Hainekos, they’re a Burlesque group that goes on after we’re done on the weekends and mid-week. Sometimes we’ll join in with them if we’re feeling particularly frisky. All in good fun. My god, the more I look at you, the more you need to be on my stage. Are you interested?” Shinji said, spinning him around.

“Um well, I don’t know, I…could try out?” he said, with a soft smile, wobbling a bit at the head rush.

Shinji nodded. “Alright, well, come on back, I think Uryū wants to check on the clothes for tonight, make sure nothing fell apart…”

Ichigo followed them through a door that led to the behind the stage area again and heard a booming voice. “I told you we need that forward camera on! I’m not losing track of the performers midway through the change up tonight!”

Up ahead, there was what could only be described as an enormous man. He perhaps stood seven foot in height, and was wearing a black T-shirt with white on the back that read “SECURITY”. He had spiked black hair and when he turned, he had an eye patch on his right eye. He looked very imposing. Ichigo started as he set eyes on him.

“New pretty boy?” he said throatily.

“Maybe, he’s going to try out for us, Ichi, this is Kenny, Kenpachi Zaraki, our head of security. Looks like he’s having camera issues again,” Shinji said. Ichigo stepped up and shook the man’s mammoth hand firmly.

He looked him over. “This one’s gay, ain’t he? Great, and he’s another diva,” he muttered, turning back. Shinji snickered. Ichigo looked confused.

“Not all our drag performers are strictly gay, Ichi. Some of them are bi, even have one that’s engaged to a gal to be married soon. He still performs and wears women’s clothes on a daily basis, but he prefers women,” he said with a smile. “You’re going to find all kinds of people here tonight. We’ve got about every orientation of sex and gender expression running round here that you can imagine!”

Ichigo nodded. “I’m just overwhelmed…I always felt like such a freak because I wanted to wear my sisters’ clothes…”

Szayel draped an arm around his back. “Honey, you will so fit in around here, don’t you worry that pretty orange head. Hrm.”

Szayel suddenly reached out and grabbed Ichigo’s pants by the button and yanked, pulling them open enough to look down the front. “I’ll be damned, your hair is that color naturally, the curtains match the drapes!”

Ichigo wasn’t sure what to do; he stared down his pants at his own pubic area and then flushed deep red. Szayel giggled and let go of his pants. Uryū, meanwhile had buried his head into his hands with a groan. Szayel grinned and shrugged. “What? I was curious. I mean, I dye mine pink, so the lowers are blonde…”

Shinji was laughing heartily beside him and Kenny was sighing. “I swear, tact, Szay, tact,” muttered Uryū weakly through his hands.

“Shinji, there you are!” came a voice as a short and demure man with vivid green eyes came walking down the hall toward them with his hands in his suit jacket’s pockets.

“Hey, what’s up, Ulqie?” Shinji said with a nod.

“Newbie?” he said, glancing at Ichigo.

Shinji nodded. “Maybe. He’s Uryū’s sorta cousin.”

“Oh, nice to meet you, then, Ulquiorra Cifer. I manage the Burlesque troupe, the Hainekos. I’m not always around, but I do drop in nights the group performs,” he said extending a hand.

Ichigo shook with him and smiled. He was an attractive man, straight black hair, serious face, almost white skinned, and quite petite, but somehow in the business suit he was imposing at the same time.  “Good to meet you.”

Shinji nodded. “So, what’s going on?”

“I just wanted to check in on the times. When will my group be going on tonight?” he asked with a nod.

Shinji pulled a folded paper from his skirt’s pocket. “Um, let’s see, we hit the stage at six, we’ve got a three-hour show, so any time after nine that you are here and ready.”

The raven-haired man nodded. “Acceptable. Ten sound good? Two hours show for us. A couple of the girls are wanting to go pick up dinner with our special guest before we hit the stage, so we’ll be here right after. See you then, Shinji.”

He turned and left and Ichigo wondered at how normal all this felt. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked to see Uryū looking at him. “Okay, Ichi?” he asked.

Ichigo nodded. “Yeah, it just feels weird, I mean, to feel like I’m a part of the place and not just standing outside looking in, you know?”

Shinji smiled at him. “Come on, I’ll show you the clothes area. It is simply stunning, and Uryū does some fantastic work.”

He led him to the back and showed off closets and closets of amazing clothes in about every size imaginable. He practically drooled at the sight. He’d never seen so many things that he would love to wear. Shinji elbowed Uryū in the side as he walked in to look about the area.

“You weren’t kidding, boy’s a natural diva. He’s got the grace and you said this is the first time he’s had on heels?” Shinji said, watching as Ichigo moved around the area looking at the various outfits. Even with two inch heels, he moved naturally.

“First time, we gave him two inch heels to start with, and as you can see, he’s got amazing legs and…assets,” Uryū said, rolling his eyes. “He’s practically a twink. He’s never had a stitch of chest hair, and I don’t think he’s got any on his legs either, lucky bastard. And he’s got the cinched waist that will suit corseting for the stage well. Thirty minutes with make-up, a good set of falsies, and he’ll turn into one hell of a queen…”

Shinji nodded, watching how he moved, his trained eye seeing thing things he wanted to see as he moved around. “Does he dance?”

“No, but he’s done martial arts since he was five years old. He’s got a black belt in something, I forget what it is, Karate or Tae Kwon Do or something, and that’s not counting what his dad has taught him on the side. He’s flexible as hell too. He was in gymnastics when he was younger, but he got teased when he was the last boy in the class, so he quit,” Uryū said.

Shinji nodded. “I can see that, he’s got the lithe looking body type.”

“Hey Ichi!” Uryū yelled out suddenly.

Ichigo looked back. “Can you still do the splits?”

Ichigo snorted. “Yeah, of course. Why wouldn’t I be able to do it? I know I’m not in gymnastics anymore, but we do that sort of thing at the dojo too.”

“Wanna show off a bit?” Uryū said, crossing his arms. Szayel arched a brow, and his eyes lit up at the possibility of seeing Ichigo do something erotic in his eyes.

“Uryū, these pants are so tight that would rip them if I tried splits right now,” he said with a roll of his eyes.

Shinji clapped. “Oh, wait, here,” he said, rummaging through a rack for a second and shoving a plastic-coated bag at him. “Put this on.”

Ichigo nodded and disappeared into the change room and emerged plucking at the outfit. It was a leotard, a female one with room for boobs or falsies, and had a skirt attached to it. It was bright green. He grimaced.

“This…is hideous,” Ichigo said, looking up at them.

“Honey, no one here is looking at the leotard,” Szayel said.

Ichigo frowned. “What?”

“You have the fuckin’ legs of a goddess, honey,” Shinji said, simply stunned by how shapely he looked even barefooted. “Damn. Women would want those legs. Now, shake that gay ass and show me what you’re capable of.”

Ichigo shrugged. “Um, okay, splits? I gotta stretch first.”

He sat down and spent some time stretching out his legs and then stood up and slipped down to the floor in a right split easily. Shinji nodded. “Can you do a straddle split?”

Ichigo nodded and complied, taking a minute to settle down into it. He winced a bit. “Damn, been a while since I’ve done this…”

“Well, that’s damn impressive,” Shinji said. “What else you got?”

Ichigo stood easily. “Um, well, I know a lot of gymnastics and all the martial arts stuff…and I know a little bit of dance, just from taking my sister to dance classes.”

Shinji nodded and shoved another plastic bag at him. “Try this on.”

Ichigo disappeared again and this time emerged with a frown as he pulled at the leather miniskirt and the mid-drift baring cut off t-shirt with a stylized skull on the front. He’d put on the black and white striped stockings that went up under the skirt with the garter belt. There was a tight panty in it that ensured good coverage of his male bits. It felt weird, but he’d done his research about what to do with that bit of biology while in drag.

Shinji was grinning. “Stunning, here, wear these,” he said, shoving a set of heels at him. They were three inches, so not much more than the others, so he slipped into them and stood and glanced at them. “Not too bad. You’ve got the moves, got the look, you interested in playing on stage this weekend? We do an amateur night on Friday before the main show starts. So you’d have to be here at say, five o’clock, and go out, maybe do a dance, something, about six or seven.”

Ichigo nodded with a shy smile. At first, he was wondering if he was going to go for it…but then the more he thought the more he liked the idea. Shinji gave him a wide smile and looked at Szayel and Uryū who were both grinning ear to ear.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Uryū finished checking the clothes over for the show later on and then led the now drag dressed Ichigo out of the back and into the main area. Uryū had been so absorbed in dealing with the two major shows he was dressing tonight, he had completely forgotten to clue Ichigo in on the presence of people that he would know from high school. This was his first night out in public, and he knew Ichigo was nervous. He shook his head at him softly.

“What?” Ichigo asked, his trademark scowl knitting his brows together.

“I…boy. Oh, I guess I should tell that there are some people you know…” Uryū said but was interrupted by a familiar voice behind them.

“Is that you, Ichigo?”

Ichigo turned around to find Orihime and Arisawa behind him. He blinked and blushed immediately. “Ah, hi.”

“Oh my god,” Arisawa said and stared. “You look flippin’ amazing…I didn’t know you’d be here, Uryū, why didn’t you tell me?”

Uryū shrugged. “Last minute. He finally came out to his dad last night and we ran into Szayel and so here we are. Shinji got hold of him…and well, this is the result, little more his style than the outfit Szayel tried on him. You on tonight?”

“Wait, you’re in Shinji’s group?” Ichigo said, frowning. “Wait, when did this happen?”

Arisawa sighed. “Well, couple months ago, I met Szayel for the first time, right after school got done for the summer at his day job. He’s a research assistant at the college, and he’s actually covering the chem class I’m taking next year. Szayel told me about the troupe and said they had some openings for some girls if I was interested. I had no idea, but I tried a few things, and now I dress in drag and take the stage as one of the drag kings in the show. I think I make a damn good man, not that I don’t dress like one the rest of the time…” she said with an eye roll. “Just a bit more exaggerated for the stage. Sorta like the queens.”

Ichigo nodded slowly. “Yeah, I can see that. Well, I’m letting Shinji talk me into taking the stage so…I’m going on Friday night for a trial run.”

Both girls grinned at each other. “About time you figured yourself out,” Arisawa said and headed back to get ready.

Orihime stayed with Uryū and Ichigo as they found a seat at one of the tables. They talked a bit about how summer had gone, their dynamic much the same even if the setting was vastly different than what they were used to, but then they weren’t hiding out in Ichigo’s bedroom. It had taken Orihime’s older brother more than a little time to get used to the fact she was a lesbian, and though he cared a great deal for her, he tried at first to “fix” her. Instead of dealing with her brother’s attempts to convince her that her interest in girls and disinterest in boys was “just a phase” she spent a lot of time at Ichigo’s, and her brother decided that she was dating him. They didn’t really lie to her brother, they just didn’t tell him that not only was Orihime not straight, neither was Ichigo. It had taken a lot of time, but eventually, he came to accept that his sister wasn’t going to find a nice man to marry and have a bunch of kids with.

“Uryū, you skank, I thought you were dating Szayel?” came a deep voice from behind them.

Ichigo turned and was staring at a tall red-headed man with thick tattoos covering his face and arms in a sort of tribal looking pattern. He wore a bandana tied around his forehead and had beautiful deep cherry chocolate eyes, and to be honest, he was gorgeous. Ichigo blinked at the redhead a couple times, his mouth instantly drying. Why were there so many hot guys here? Uryū sighed.

“Renji, this is my cousin, Ichigo, practically my brother,” he said. “Ichigo, this red headed bastard is Renji Abarai, he’s the second in command of the security around here. In other words, anything goes wrong, we blame him.”

Renji flopped down in the seat beside Ichigo and looked him over. “Damn. You get recruited yet? Because dude, you are smokin’.”

Ichigo put his head on the table with a thump.  All three at the table laughed. “See, Ichigo, even the straight ones think you’re hot,” Uryū said with a sigh.

Renji snorted. “Hey, call them like I see them. I’m comfortable enough in my manhood, thanks, to admit when a man in in a skirt is hot. And this boy is hot. Too bad ya got a dick and I’m attached already.”

“Maybe we could change that, sugar,” came Szayel’s voice and Renji jumped.

“Szayel, get yer hand outta m’pants, man, go fondle yer boyfriend,” Renji said rolling his eyes and removing Szayel’s wandering hand from his crotch.

Szayel sat down with a pout in the chair between Uryū and Orihime. Ichigo blinked and took in the change. He wore a long and elegant looking dress with silver sequins and his bright hair was done up in a stylish updo. The dress was sleeveless with a halter style strap at the top, and he was wearing a quite large chest piece. Szayel crossed his legs and sighed, sipping from Uryū’s drink daintily.

“He never wants to play,” Szayel said, fluttering his long fake eyelashes at Renji who snickered and stood up slowly.

“Dude, you grow a pussy, come talk to me, okay?” Renji said and waved at them as he pulled off the red button down shirt he was wearing over his black security shirt.

“Such a tasty one,” Szayel muttered, patting at his lips carefully with the napkin to avoid messing up the lipstick. “But that’s okay. Uryū here is enough to keep me sated.”

Ichigo grinned and sighed, completely comfortable for the first time in a very long time. Everyone here was accepting, open, and honest, not only with him but with each other. The straight guys didn’t mind the gay ones, the gay ones picked on the straight ones. He had a feeling the girls were the same.

“Wow, who…oh, sorry, you’re a guy,” came a female voice behind them. The place was starting to fill up with the performers and their family and friends before the public was let in. He smiled at a pretty woman with green hair. She had a low-cut shirt with large breasts that seemed to pop out of it. She held out a hand.

“Mashiro, I work the bar. I also hit on all the hot chicks that come in here, and you just about pass for one. You new?” she said with a grin.

Ichigo blushed again. “Ah, yeah, tonight’s my first night in here, and well, like this…”

She arched a brow and glanced at Uryū. “This is his first time in drag? Damn.”

“Mashiro-chan!” came a sleepy voice from nearby.

“What is it, Starrk?” she said, turning as a tall brunette man with sleepy eyes came wandering over. “I was just meeting the newbie.”

Starrk smiled and glanced at him. “Coyote Starrk,” he said. “I run the bar, and can mostly be found behind it.  But now and then, I come out and chat up the boys and girls I like.” He added the last with a wink at Ichigo.

Ichigo frowned. “Starrk? Hey, do you have a sister named Lilynette?”

The larger man nodded. “That’s my _hermanita_. You know her?”

Ichigo shook his head. “No but my sisters go to school with her. Yuzu and Karin Kurosaki.”

The man looked up and tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Yes, the twins that don’t look like twins,” he said. “I think I’ve seen then before somewhere, maybe on a trip or something. Small world, _mi amor_.”

“Quite a small one,” Ichigo said with a smile at him and the green haired bar tender. “I’m Ichigo, by the way. Uryū is my cousin, and yes, I’ve already met Shinji, and he’s got me coming on stage this weekend,” he said with a sigh.

Both Mashiro and Starrk laughed out loud at that. “I think he’s been asked a few times,” Starrk said. “Now, come on, _mija_ , we need to go inventory the Vodka, I’m afraid we are low, and need to send someone to grab a few bottles for the night! I do not wish to argue with someone who has desperate need of their screwdriver!”

With that the two bartenders wandered away. Ichigo shook his head. “I’m never going to remember all these people…”

The lights suddenly dropped and Ichigo looked around. Szayel bid them farewell and ran back stage. Uryū and Ichigo settled in to watch the show. It was a fun show, Ichigo realized. He only recognized Arisawa and Szayel so far, and Shinji did the announcing, but the rest he didn’t know yet.

Szayel did an amazing job lip syncing to a slow song that Ichigo was unfamiliar with. The man had incredible grace, and just as he thought it would stay so pretty, Szayel ripped the outer skirt off to cat calls in the audience and went into a rap song about sex. Ichigo saw Uryū shake his head. Ichigo imagined that Szayel must be a handful…. There were a couple of skits, one funny one where one of the drag queens was pining away for a man, and Arisawa came and wooed “her”. The audience loved it. Then Shinji announced there would be an hour break before the Burlesque group went on with their American special guest.

“What’s this about a special guest?” Ichigo asked frowning. “Is that why it is so packed in here?” he said, looking around as he started to see more and more people pour into the place.

“Yeah,” Uryū said, the Burlesque group is performing with an American named LittleBear, she’s a bearded lady, and really amazing on stage,” he said nodding. “She’s really nice too, I met her when she came in a few days ago. She’s got her troupe with her, and they’re going to do a special skit before our group goes on, and maybe do a duet with Rangiku.”

Ichigo nodded. “Well, that’s cool. I’ve never seen a burlesque show at all, let alone with a bearded lady. She’s, like a woman, right? Not like a drag queen that has a beard?” he asked, frowning.

“Yup, sure is. She just happens to have a beard. I think it’s awesome because the Hainekos don’t have anyone that does right now. They had a bearded lady a while back, but she left to work with a traveling group, I forgot her name. She had some medical condition that made her grow facial hair. I’m not sure if this American woman has the same thing,” he said thoughtfully.

Ichigo smiled and nodded to Uryū. “I’m going to get a drink, you want anything?”

“Nah, I’m good, Szayel will be back soon enough, I’m sure. But you go ahead,” Uryū said with a grin. He was quite happy to see that Ichigo was enjoying himself so freely. It was a nice change from the dour boy that had been moping around lately.

Ichigo trotted over to the bar and asked for a coke. Mashiro nodded and went to grab it and then Ichigo got his first taste of some of the less than attractive points of dressing as a female. And that was the fact someone had put a hand on his ass and was squeezing it as he was leaning over the bar. Ichigo just looked over his shoulder and saw what was obviously a half-drunk man leering at him.

“Dude, hand, off, now,” he said, the previously playful note to his voice completely gone.

“Ah, honey, come on, aren’t ya lonely? Ya ain’t wit no one…” he slurred. “I’m sure that pretty little boy pussy of yours would enjoy me…”

Mashiro frowned as she put down his drink, her eye twitching at the man. Ichigo cocked a brow at him. “Unless you want me to break that hand, get it off my ass,” Ichigo reiterated, picking up his drink carefully and turned, pulling away from his hand since he was obviously not going to move it on his own.

The guy’s hand wandered away and he held it up before him. “Sorry, baby, I figured you was advertising with that hot little ass of yours…”

Ichigo rolled his eyes and went back to the table. “Ugh! First night in a skirt and I’ve already got someone pawing my ass!” he said as he flopped back into his seat.

Uryū snickered. “Well, you know, happens. As long as they back off, that’s what matters! I pity the person that thinks he can try and get in your pants without permission,” Uryū muttered, knowing quite well that his cousin might look weak and small but was not in the least.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. “You are too amused by this, Ishida,” Ichigo said with a snort.

“Of course he is,” came Arisawa’s voice as she pulled a chair up beside him, still in her biker outfit from the show she’d just come from doing a short while ago. “You are fuckin’ adorable all the time, and now you’re in a skirt. What do you expect? Not like you couldn’t break half of the assholes in the place in two if you wanted to, so whatcha worried about?” she asked as she peeled off the fake goatee she was wearing.

They sat and talked for a bit longer and Ichigo excused himself to the restroom. He really didn’t want to miss the special guest on the Burlesque show so he thought he better make a run before it started in the next few minutes. He was washing his hands when he sensed someone behind him. He turned to see a familiar face. It was the guy that had been groping his ass at the bar. In the lighter bathroom he could see that he was indeed drunk, and his dewy brown eyes were unfocused. This looked like a guy that was going to make a bad choice in a few minutes.

“Man, the hell?” Ichigo asked, frowning at him with a deep sigh. Some guys did not know when to give up.

He was obviously more drunk now than before as he stumbled forward and pinned Ichigo against the sink and breathed a noxious breath onto him. “Come on, you know you came in here lookin’,” he said. “I know a boy looking to cottage when I see ‘im, baby.”

“Dude, you’ve got about five seconds before I rearrange your face, because I am most definitely not your baby,” Ichigo said, his voice dipping into the lower range and losing all trace of amusement again.

Ichigo was curious about the way his voice would change when his mood changed. He noted that he used a lighter timber and almost bouncy sound when he was feeling more girly, and moments like these, when his aggressive, testosterone laden tendencies began to show themselves, he dropped into a very deep vocal range and he felt like ripping this asshole’s head off his shoulders. It was like there was a switch, and he had no idea what the hell that meant.

“But yer a feckin’ twink bitch, whatcha gonna do? Draw on me wit lipsticks?” he said, grinning sloppily and slipping both hands underneath Ichigo’s ass again and gripping him, or at least trying to do so.

Ichigo growled and closed his eyes for a second before he really hurt the guy. True, the guy was perhaps six four, and probably weighed a good two fifty making him over half a foot taller and over a hundred pounds heavier than he was. But size didn’t matter. “I’m gonna tell you once more, get back before you get hurt.”

The guy leaned forward and squeezed Ichigo’s ass with both hands hard this time making Ichigo wince at the sharpness of the sudden pain it sparked. “Nah, I think yer gonna stay here wit me til I’m done wit ya…”

Ichigo sighed and with two motions had the guy face down on the floor, sitting on the asshole’s back with both hands locked together behind him in his left hand. Ichigo didn’t have very large hands at all, but his fingers were long, slender, and dexterous, making it a simple task to lock down the clumsy man’s wrists. He frowned as the man started blubbering obscenities into the thankfully quite clean tile of the bathroom. What the hell was he going do with a drunk? He was going to get violent if he let him up, and he didn’t really want to end up getting arrested for assault his first night in the club he hoped to make a part of his life. The door opened just then and Ichigo looked back to see Renji staring at him.

“He’s drunk, so you might want to send him out. He has an unnatural attraction to my ass, and I’m afraid he’s going to get hurt…” Ichigo said and stood up, letting the guy go to groan on the floor. As expected, he started thrashing and cussing loudly about “stupid freak twinks” and “bitches that should know their place”. Ichigo shook his head and shrugged and left Renji to do his thing and went back to the table and flopped down.

“Ichigo, why are your knuckles bloody?” asked Uryū. Ichigo glanced down and realized he must have busted them up on the tile or the sink when he took the horny bastard down. He wiped them with his napkin and looked over as a cussing man was drug out by Renji and Kenpachi.

“Fuckin’ twink was coming onta me, I tell ya!” he was screaming and Ichigo rolled his eyes and huffed a sigh. He really didn’t like the term twink. He honestly didn’t like labels at all that much.

“Really?” Arisawa said, giving him an evil smirk. “Already getting people tossed out on their ears first night? My, my, what a little vixen you’re turning out to be.”

Ichigo grinned at her and shook his head. “He should have damn well kept his hands off my ass.”

They laughed a moment and then the lights dimmed again. “Oh, hush, the Hainekos and LittleBear are going on!”

Ichigo smiled. “I’ve never seen a Burlesque show,” he said quietly as the group went on stage.

The first act was the visiting Americans, LittleBear. After they had done their scene, they went into a transition where the visiting group did a short scene with the Heinekos and then they left the stage to thunderous applause. He was utterly fascinated by the show because it was so different than stripping. They did strip teases, but it wasn’t like a strip show at all. Tonight, they were doing a show based around fairy tales. As the night progressed, they performed skits to Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Snow White. Ichigo marveled at the sheer size of the lead’s breasts, her name was Matsumoto he thought. He shook his head as he wondered how she stayed upright, especially when she was running around in pasties and jumping about like that.

By the time midnight rolled around, Ichigo was exhausted and met several other people that he definitely couldn’t remember afterward. Then he headed home and fell into bed. All in all, his first “out” day had turned out pretty well…

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

“You’re sure about that?” the man with baby blue hair said into the phone. “The body was found two weeks ago, and that puts them right in line for…” he said, looking at the map on the wall. He’d put a pin into an area in eastern China. And now he was measuring and he frowned deeply. “Karakura town? Fuck me sideways and call me a whore, that’s where my sister lives…” he muttered, rubbing his hand over his head. “Alright. We’re leaving tonight, thanks for the tip, I owe you big time, sugar.”

He hung the phone up and slipped it back in his pocket and sighed. “Yo, boss, got a bite for us?” asked a man with black and red hair as he came into the sparse hotel room.

“Yeah, it’s the sons of bitches we’ve been trailing across fuckin’ Europe. Look here,” he said, pointing to the map of Europe and Asia on the wall where he’d pinned a couple places. “Last body turned up here. They never strike within fifty miles of their last spot. They’ve had three in the area they’ve worked here, and I’m guessing they’re moving on now. Karakura Town is the only place with a high enough population to seem even somewhat attractive in that fifty-mile radius. They won’t hit Tokyo, that’s too big. We know they can’t go long before their games start. We’ve got to get in on one of the vics before they disappear, Edrad.”

Edrad sat down on one of the twin beds with a sigh. “Yeah, because once they disappear, they’re fuckin’ dead, I mean, fucking Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez can’t even find their damn asses, and shit, you can track a fish through a river upstream…”

Grimmjow nodded. The praise wasn’t inaccurate. In fact, it was very accurate. Grimmjow was known as the go to man for tracking people. “Yeah. Fuck, man, Karakura is where my sister lives with that kid she takes care of. I guess we can crash at her place; just don’t fuckin’ mess with shit. She’ll beat the living crap out of you, then me.”

Edrad snickered. “No problem man. We bringing in Shawlong and Di Roy?”

Grimmjow stared at the map for a while longer. “Yeah, better. All hands on deck for this shit. Fuckin’ bounty is enough we could have goddamned eight people on it, and still be rich as fuck by the end.”

There was a long silence between the two men. They’d worked together long enough that words were really not that necessary. Edrad, as well as their other partners Shawlong and Di Roy, knew all too well that Grimmjow was obsessed with this bounty. And it had nothing to do with the money. This was the one he couldn’t catch, the one that kept getting away, and it was driving the man crazy. The suave, fast talking man was able to track down and bring in the worst of the worst, but he had yet to be able to bring in what was perhaps the most sadistic, perverse, and ruthless serial killers that any of them had ever seen. But as Edrad watched the tension mount in his shoulders, he knew there was more than even that. Somehow, every time they got on their trail again, it felt more and more personal.

As near as Grimmjow could tell, it began simple. A little girl that killed her pets, and turned out was a true psychopath, able to even fool the psychiatrists into releasing her, and a little pampered boy with a superiority complex that love to inflict pain on lesser beings had found each other. And then, together, they moved across Europe and Asia leaving a trail of mutilated bodies. But their game wasn’t simply murder; that was the bad part. First, they tortured their victims and broke them down from afar, stalking and manipulating and even if the police were involved from that point, they could not be found or traced. And then, one day, their victim would disappear, and a week or so later, they’d find a body that was so mutilated that it was mostly unrecognizable. Except of course for the photo album that would show up on the family’s doorstep depicting the torture the victim had gone through.

The media had dubbed them the most sadistic killers in the last century. Grimmjow normally thought that the media exaggerated. Grimmjow knew the media was understating it. They’d become known as The Album Murderers because of the photo albums they left behind. Again, Grimmjow didn’t like the name, but he guessed calling them what they really were was a bit too gruesome even for the most hardened cops. So, they had a simple name. But the mere mention of the Album Murders made every cop in the whole of Eurasia wince. And now, out to Japan. They had so far stayed continental to the Europe and Asia, but now it seemed they were going to torment the island country…

“Well, Edrad, have the guys meet us at the airport in Karakura. I’ll call my sister and see that she’s got the guest house made up. We are going to catch these fuckers this time…” he said, flopping back on the bed.

He didn’t let Edrad see that his eyes were starting to well with tears as memories began to surface in his mind of dark hair and glittering eyes paired with infectious laughter outside Bernau, Germany. He swallowed the bile that rose in his throat along with those memories and fell asleep.


	2. Targeted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As of Jan 2017 revisions are being done to this story.

So it was that Isshin had been surprised around three weeks ago. And now he was surprised again, holding an invitation to a club in downtown Karakura named Las Noches. His only son was giving his first performance on stage with a local drag troupe called the Dangai in a couple days. It wasn’t that he was embarrassed or that he thought it was weird, it was just strange since this was the first time he’d see Ichigo dressed completely as an actual drag queen. Since he’d told them at lunch three weeks ago, he’d changed his regular attire a bit, his clothes had definitely taken on a more feminine feel, and when he went out, he often wore jewelry and make-up now. But he hadn’t really started wearing skirts or dresses or anything at home yet. He’d gotten his ears pierced a few times in each ear and he’d noticed the influx of new clothing, no doubt courtesy of Uryū’s tailoring skills. And a lot of shoes. Way too many shoes. He honestly didn’t think Masaki had had that many shoes.

He supposed that if he was going to be dressing as a woman in life, his body type was to his advantage. Ichigo had always been slender rather than strong, built like a swimmer rather than a weight lifter or anything. His hands were long fingered and thin, and his face was softer than most. He had large brown eyes and a set of unusually full lips for boy, and a set of eyelashes that most girls would die for. He definitely had the legs for the occupation of a drag performer, having again, long limbs. He’d done a stint in track in high school, and of course, he was a third-degree karate black belt, had taken classes in both Tae Kwon Do and Kung Fu at various times, and had a good knowledge of Hap-ki-do and Aikido, though no formal training in those, Isshin had taught him those himself. He’d always been balanced and graceful, so the first time he’d run down the stairs at home in a pair of six-inch stiletto heels to show the girls, he hadn’t been too surprised. Because he had actually run down the stairs, and all Isshin could think was how the hell could he run in those without falling since he’d never really worn them before… He stopped himself. He’d never seen him wear them before. There was no reason to think his son had never worn them before.

The phone rang in his pocket and he pulled it out. It was his “cousin”, Ryūken Ishida, Uryū’s father.

“Isshin,” came the always serious voice of the fellow doctor.

“Ryūken, what can I do for you?” he said. Calls from the stoic fellow doctor were always terse and filled with tension. Isshin had never approved of the way Ryūken had treated his own son, which was perhaps one of the reasons the boy spent so much time at his house. Sometimes he wondered if the kid was actually his because he saw him so much…

“Uryū says you’ll be attending Las Noches Saturday night,” he said flatly.

Isshin started. He didn’t think Uryū even participated in the shows, but he could have changed his mind, he supposed. “Um, yes, is Uryū performing?”

“No, Uryū made Ichigo’s outfit and some of the other performers’ outfits as well, so I’m going to view his work with a colleague of mine in design. Sort of scouting him, so to speak. And his current love interest is performing as well,” Ryūken said, still so stiffly, even though he was discussing his son’s future. “Shall I pick you up around six? No reason to go separately. The boys are going earlier of course.”

“Of course, that would be fine. I forgot to ask if the girls would be allowed to go?” he asked.

“Yes, if you are there. They do have a full bar, but since they are Ichigo’s sisters, I can’t imagine them not allowing it as long as they leave before the later shows begin. It is a cabaret lounge after all. But when the burlesque group goes on, I would imagine they should be home in bed.”

“Okay, well, see you at six on Saturday then,” he said, hanging up. He was glad, because the girls were excited to see their brother on stage for the first time…

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Ichigo had insisted that his sisters and dad stay put when he got things together to move into the dorms for this semester. He really didn’t want to be embarrassed by that lot. He had Uryū go with him because he was also moving into his own dorm, though to be honest, he would never stay there since he’d be with Szayel most the time. Uryu’s father had insisted that he use the dorms. Uryū had conceded and so he had put the bare minimum of stuff in his room, looked at his over the top flamboyant roommate and told him not to expect him to stay for more than a few minutes at a time. They tried to keep majors together, so since Uryū was in fashion design, so was his roommate.

“I could not live with him,” Uryū said, pulling Ichigo’s hanging bag down the hallway toward his dorm. “I mean, really, he may have well had a sign on his forehead reading ‘stereotypical gay’ on it. Not even Szayel at his most diva gets that bad.”

Ichigo shook his head and knocked on the door and was answered with a voice calling for him to enter on the other side. Ichigo went in and nodded to the young man who was opening his own suitcase on the cot that took up the left side of the room. At the end of each cot, there was a small desk and chair with a dresser built into the side.

Ichigo put down his case and extended a hand to the other person, a tallish boy, perhaps three or four inches taller than Ichigo without his current four inch heels, and a set of sweats that did nothing for his appearance. He had thick, black hair that was messy from his hands constantly running through it, Ichigo guessed, and dark eyes. He looked at Ichigo and a wave of discomfort went over Ichigo.

“Ichigo, third year! How are you?” he said, holding his hand out for a long moment.

He finally reached out and shook his hand without really looking at him and turned back to his case. “Um, yeah, Kenneth. Good ta meet you.”

Uryū cocked and eyebrow at Ichigo and cleared his throat. “Yeah, so I just told Mr. I’m-so-gay that I’d be staying with Szayel anyway, so he could do whatever he wanted with the room.”

“You’re lucky to have a boyfriend with a huge place,” Ichigo said, pulling out his books and setting them on his desk carefully. “I would die to have his place. My gods, it is huge and he doesn’t even have two bedrooms in it!”

Uryū noted the stiffness in Kenneth’s back as they talked. “Well, anyway, cousin, dear, I’ll be going. See you at the club tonight?”

“Night off before school, Shin gave it to me so I could get settled in. I told him I didn’t need it, but the bastard insisted. Szayel on tonight?” he asked, pulling out his tablet and connecting to the Wi-Fi in the building.

“Nah, but I’m doing the outfits for the Burlesque show tonight, so I’ve got to make sure the Velcro pieces are staying put, last thing I need for my first strip tease is the clothes I designed to fall off before they’re stripped off.”

With that, Uryū left and Ichigo settled back on the bed and fiddled with his tablet before putting away the meager clothes he’d brought. Not knowing who his roommate was, he’d opted to bring the plainest clothes he had, mostly t-shirts and jeans. He tossed his clunky boots that he didn’t wear anymore into the small closet and then wrapped a couple scarves around a hanger. He’d at least accessorize a bit if he had to change here. However, he seriously doubted he’d stay for long.

Kenneth studiously avoided looking at him. Ichigo ignored him. “So,” Ichigo said finally, the dark-haired boy looking over. “You just don’t like me on principle of not liking people, or do you just not like me because I’m gay?”

Kenneth stammered for a second. “I…no…it isn’t that…I’m…really I’m fine if you’re gay and stay over there and don’t like hit on me and stuff…” he said, eyes avoiding Ichigo at all costs.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. “You aren’t my type, sweetheart. First of all, I don’t hit on straight men. And second, I prefer a man with a little more to him than you. You’re a little thin for my taste.”

Ichigo hadn’t meant to be snide. But he couldn’t help it. He was already annoyed with the treatment he had been getting from people staring at him because of the makeup and jewelry he wore. This was annoying because he wasn’t even made up that much.

Kenneth stared for a minute and Ichigo sighed. “Look, sorry, just been a rough few days. Didn’t mean to be rude, but you really don’t need to worry about anything. I don’t even date these days, too busy at Las Noches and with school to even think about it. If I’m here, I will either be sleeping or studying, and that’s it.”

Ichigo cut his eyes up to see the disgusted look Kenneth gave him when he didn’t think he was looking. Great. His dormmate was a homophobe. Wonderful.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

"Ichigo, slow down!" Yuzu yelled as Ichigo moved down the sidewalk toward the store he'd seen advertised at the club.

He turned back and huffed a sigh. "Hurry up, you're the one that wanted to go shopping, remember? I have to be at the club earlier than usual because Uryū has last minute work to do on me and a couple others! Pop’s gonna be there for this one, so I want it to go well."

Yuzu shook her head as she rushed to catch up with her brother. She was still amazed by the changes in a few short weeks of being involved with the club he'd been performing at. Today was Ichigo's big day because Yuzu, Karin and their father were all going to the performance. Ichigo had fit right in, and had come to a routine in the last few weeks. He’d moved into the dorms at the university, but considering the size of the closets, he’d kept almost everything at his dad’s place and thought perhaps finding an apartment with someone from the club would be better. As it was, he had decided to major in architecture and design buildings, so his dorm mate was a fellow architecture student. He hadn’t told them about his roommate being somewhat uncomfortable with him. He honestly didn’t want to worry them.

The awkward conversation with his father about how he was going to deal with the less savory parts of being openly out had been annoying. His dad meant well, but he really didn’t need to hear it. He could defend himself perfectly well, and he didn’t need to be told who to watch out for. He was incredibly perceptive already, and knew easily who was going to be a dick and who wasn’t about him being himself.

Suddenly, Ichigo’s mind was drug from his thoughts of the past couple days and he stopped and stared in a window as Yuzu caught up. "Yuzu, look at that!"

It was an adorable dress. It was a black and yellow plaid pleated skirt, mid-thigh, and the upper part was a brilliant sunset yellow. It was sleeveless and just as cute as it could be. Ichigo thought it would go with his hair very well. He grinned at Yuzu. Ichigo had found that his thinner frame served him well. Some of the drag queens were broad shouldered and thick chested or necked and had trouble with clothes. Ichigo, however, had an almost willowy figure that required very little augmentation.

"Oh, that would be perfect for the school girl skit I'm doing next week!" he said with a grin.

Yuzu smiled. "Well, let's see if they have your size!" she said, practically dragging him into the store.

The shop was small, and catered to women of all sizes from extra small to larger plus sizes. They specialized in dresses of all types, and a few shoes. Ichigo gravitated to the display of the dress and looked it over. Yuzu smiled and tucked hands behind her back and watched. She had to admit, watching Ichigo actually indulge in the things he enjoyed was exciting to her. She couldn’t image the times when she’d drug him shopping and Ichigo had seen things he liked, but had to pretend he didn’t.

"Can I help you miss?" came a voice behind Yuzu. She turned to see a middle-aged woman of short and heavy stature with curly black hair and tiny brown eyes. She wore a pantsuit and a fake grin on her overly made up face.

"Yes, I think we're interested in this dress," she said.

"What size are you dear, I'll see if I have it in stock," she said.

Yuzu smiled. "Ichi-nii, what size?"

The sales clerk, Anita her name badge said, frowned and quirked a brow as Ichigo came around the display. Ichigo's look had changed significantly, it was true. He didn't dress in women's clothes every day. He had not yet decided on his gender identity, as he was still exploring these ideas. Was he a woman? Was he a cross dresser? Was he in between male and female? He was beginning to think the latter was the truth. But, his entire look had changed. He wore make-up, usually light during the day, and his hair was growing out slowly. His dress had changed to more feminine, and sometimes he wore skirts, but he didn't wear his booby bra as he called it except for shows. Damn thing was uncomfortable until he could afford to have a proper one custom made for him.

Today, he'd gone out with his hair pinned back in barrettes to keep it from his face, and a pair of embroidered jeans that he absolutely loved. He'd wore his four-inch platform heeled boots, mostly just as practice since he wore stilettos in the show, and his shirt was a simple peasant shirt with a ruffled neckline and mid forearm sleeves. He'd had his ears pierced the last week and wore a pair of dangly earrings with tiny strawberries on them.

"I don't know, every store is different," he mused, picking at the hem of the dress.

"I doubt we have your size," the clerk said dryly.

Ichigo blinked and looked up, big brown eyes already showing disappointment. Of course, they wouldn’t have his size in something he really wanted. "Oh? Do you only have the smaller sizes in it?"

"I'm sure." Her voice was flat. Ichigo felt the sudden desire to leave. He was already getting used to “the look” that meant he wasn’t wanted somewhere. It was the same “look” Kenneth had given him a couple days earlier. It had nothing to do with what sizes the dress came in, he knew.

"Oh," he said, nodding and biting his lip. "Yeah, let's go to the other store, Yuzu…"

Yuzu looked between them. "You bitch!" she announced, shocking Ichigo still. His sister had never said a curse word in her life to his knowledge.

"Yuzu!" he gasped.

"You don't want to sell to him because he's a guy!" she continued, the lady frowning at her. "How dare you not even bother to sell to my big brother!"

"I don't serve his kind here," she said, her expression sour. “There’s a store that caters to his sort down the street. I’m sure they’ll have plenty to suit his taste.”

Yuzu's face went red. Ichigo had never seen her like this, Karin, sure, Karin had a temper on her to rival Ichigo’s own when she got really worked up, but Yuzu… Yuzu was the calm and collected one, the one who never let herself get out of control.

"Come on, let's just go, I'm getting used to this, it happens…" he begged, trying to look smaller, which with four-inch platform heels wasn’t easy. He was wishing he’d gone with kitten heels today.

"No!" Yuzu said, pulling her hand out of Ichigo's and facing the woman. "You dare discriminate against him because he's gay? And he likes to dress in drag? You know what, you are an ignorant fool. He's my big brother, and if one of these days he decides he's really be my big sister, that's fine with me. I'll love him either way. He's one amazing performer, and he looks good in a dress, better than you do I bet, and you just lost the patronage of him, his entire troupe, and me and everyone in Karakura high because they're all going to know never to step foot in this shop!"

Yuzu turned on her heel and grabbed Ichigo by the hand and pulled him from the shop out into the sidewalk. Neither of them saw a woman standing at the end of the alley that took notice of them.

"Yuzu! How could you do that?" Ichigo said with a gasp.

"I'm sorry; Ichi-nii, but I can't stand people like that. She had no right to treat you like that just because of the fact you're gay and dress in drag. What business is it of hers what you wear? She sells clothes, not her bigotry. I mean, you are so pretty when you dress up! And that dress would have been perfect for you. The yellow would have looked pretty with your hair. But sorry, I mean, I just…I love you and I don't want anyone to treat you badly. You've found some good people at Las Noches, and I can't wait to see you on stage tonight," she said with a small smile.

Ichigo shook his head. "Who would have thought my little sister would be defending my honor…"

Yuzu grinned. "Let's get to that store you saw on the board. They won't have any issues with your newfound flaming gayness, Ichi-nii!"

Ichigo swatted her on the shoulder. "Oi, you. Baka, I’ve always been gay, and you know it. I just never said it out loud to Pop."

As they walked away the woman with long dark hair watched, a grin creeping onto her face slowly. Las Noches, that would be easy enough to go to. It was a cabaret after all. They’d only been in town a couple weeks, and she’d already heard that it was where the prettiest boys of Karakura hung out and danced. She leaned back against the brick wall and crossed her arms thoughtfully. She looked rather non-descript in a black trench and boots. She wore a white hat with a black six spoked wheel on the front. She kept watch and before long she heard the trash bin down in the alley slam closed. A moment later a thin man came up next to her.

"Done, Bambietta. Shall we leave before someone finds the remains?" he asked, running a hand through the black hair at the top of his head. His round glasses reflected the sun around him.

"Yes, yes, come, I've found our next one. Such a pretty one, too… He's performing at Las Noches tonight, I like him a lot, strong family to mourn him, close friends to worry, yes, perfect, Quilge, perfect. That last one wasn't as satisfying as I would have liked," she said as they walked down the sidewalk at a fast clip.

"Could have fooled me…there wasn't a lot left when you were done. At least I got to spend some time with him before you were done this time. I never get to have any fun, you kill them too fast," the man muttered, pulling his own black jacket tight and shoving the fedora onto his head.

Bambietta snickered. "But they scream so pretty at the end. Here, go in this store," she said, and found herself looking at a black and yellow plaid dress.

"Anita, I would like one of these, yes, let me see, what size?" she said thoughtfully and then decided on what it would be and walked out with a gift-wrapped box.

Quilge looked at her. "What are you planning?"

She smiled at him. "Just a little gift for our new plaything. Do you still have that powder we used on that blonde a couple months ago?"

He thought. "Pool Shock? That pool chlorine? Yeah, what are you thinking?"

She smiled. "We take that, dust the inside of the dress and when he wears it for a little while, it will start a slow burn, especially when he starts sweating under the stage lights. And by the time he realizes what has happened, he’ll be covered with mild chemical burns. Nothing serious, but it will be a good start to show that we can get to him. Oh, this will be so much fun…”

Her eyes were lit with a glow from within that she only rarely got when they were after a truly special prey. Her partner giggled and the day had turned very bright for them.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

The Queen’s Closet was basically a dress shop for drag queens or those with masculine bodies. The poster had said as much, and Ichigo wasn’t sure, but he thought that the owner might be one of the troupe. But he was in awe when they got inside. The window had been tastefully dressed like any other shop window, but inside, it was obviously a place that catered to drag queens of all kinds or anyone that needed feminine clothes made for a typically masculine body. The back wall was stacked with shoes from waist high down to the floor, and above that were displays of wigs in all sorts of colors and styles. There were two sections, the left side was labeled Show-wear, and the right was labeled Day-wear. The Day-wear side was pretty much everyday clothes, dresses, skirts, pants, all tailored for typically male bodies to wear. The Show-wear side was like the backstage of Las Noches.

“Well, if it isn’t the newbie,” came a voice from behind the counter. Ichigo looked up to see a familiar bald head.

“Ikkaku!” Ichigo said and waved to the bald man in a black t-shirt and jeans behind the counter. “Yumi here too? I didn’t know you guys ran this place.”

“Ichi!” came Yumichika’s voice from the back and then the dark-haired man came bounding out of the back and hugged Ichigo, nearly lifting him off the ground. Yumichika was surprisingly strong for his slight build. He smiled. “I wondered if you’d come in! I’ve been dying to dress your sweet little rear!” He was wearing jeans, though glittery red jeans, and a kimono style shirt with red and pink flowers all over it. His long hair was tied back and laying over his shoulder.

Ichigo blushed. “Ah, Yumi, this is my sister, Yuzu, one of them, anyway…”

Yumichika smiled. “Oh dear, aren’t you cute!” he said and grinned, brushing his long black hair over his shoulder. “But what’s with the sour face?”

Ichigo glanced at her. “You aren’t still upset, are you?” he asked.

She frowned, still not over her anger at the horrid woman. “Yes, I am!”

Ikkaku arched a brow. “What happened?”

Ichigo shook his head. “Oh, we stopped at another shop, and they were less than courteous…” he said waving his hand. “Nothing major.”

Yuzu frowned. “She was downright rude and said they didn’t serve ‘his kind’. I was so mad!”

Yumichika sighed. “It happens, love. Which shop?”

“Yellow Roses,” Yuzu said crossing her arms and glaring at the wall.

Ikkaku shook his head. “Not the first time we’ve heard that. She doesn’t like us even being on the same street. After we opened the Queen’s Closet, she tried to petition to make us leave. Didn’t work, but well. She’s a bitch.”

Yumichika smiled. “Forget her, come on, I have stuff you have got to try on.”

Ichigo was led to the back and Yuzu sat down at a chair by the front desk with a sigh. Ikkaku smiled. “Don’t let it get to you too much. You accept him, that’s all that matters. Who cares what others think?”

“How do you do it? Put up with them?” Yuzu said softly.

Ikkaku sighed and came around and pulled a seat next to her. “Because I love Yumi, I don’t let it get to me. He’d be upset if I was upset. Yumi is a great person and I don’t know what I’d do without him.”

“Have you always been with him?” Yuzu asked. “I’m sorry, tell me if I’m prying, I just…this is new to me. I don’t have any gay friends, not like Ichi-nii, and I don’t want to do anything wrong…”

Ikkaku smiled. “Yumi and I met in high school. I gained this spectacularly bald head back then when I was sixteen. Lost all my hair. Got in a fight after fight over it. Then, one day, this older kid was trying to goad me into a fight, and this pretty boy came up and slapped the guy and told him to fuck off, that there was not anything wrong with me being bald. The asshat punched Yumi and I laid him out. And from that day forward, Yumi and I hung out. Took a while to figure out that I loved him as much as he loved me. But I’m a bit dense,” Ikkaku said, tapping his shiny bald head.

“But what should I do? I mean, what do I not say, what do I say…”

Ikkaku put a hand on her arm. “Do you love your brother?” She nodded. “Do you care if he dresses like a girl or a guy?” She shook her head. “Did you want to punch that bitch for being mean to him?” She nodded vigorously. “Then you’re doing alright.”

Yuzu smiled at him. And she realized he was right. All she had to do was be herself, and let her brother do the same.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Grimmjow yawned as he stepped out of the cab with Shawlong and Edrad. Di Roy was on his way, a day or two behind. He looked over the large house his sister owned. It had been a long time since he’d been to Japan, too long actually. And he forgot how small even her “large” house was. At least it was big enough that there was an actual second guest house that the guys could bunk in. He opened the gate and let the other two in and as expected, Nel was sitting in her swing reading, while Wonderweiss, the kid she’d adopted a few years ago, was snooping in the grass for creepy crawlies. He smiled and watched for a moment. Nel’s dark green hair was pulled up in a tail behind her head and she was deep into whatever book she was reading, but Grimmjow knew that should the blond teenager puttering in the dirt even breathe funny, she would be aware in a second.

Nel was a gem, to be sure. She had adopted the kid about two years ago. She specialized in working with special needs children, and in her work she had come across the abused boy. When services removed him from the home, she had been lead on his case. They came to have such a great chemistry with each other, Nel decided to officially adopt the boy. He was highly intelligent, but had been diagnosed with autism and his parents hadn’t known how to handle him. He’d been severely abused, and labeled with mental retardation. Turned out he was a victim of circumstance, and probably had a genius level IQ if one could actually test it. He just was a bit obsessed with his favorite things, and had a difficult time with anything remotely social. But Nel had been helping with that. Nel herself had been delayed developmentally due to being born with hydrocephalus. She’d grown up under constant bullying due to her speech impediment. Grimmjow and her two best friends that lived on their street had fought many fights for the young girl. These days, her speech problem was mostly gone. Sometimes, though, it showed up again, usually when she was very excited, or very angry.

“Yo, sis,” he called. She waved and finished her page. Perhaps she’d been more aware of him than he thought. No, she was watching Wonderweiss, of course she knew he was there.

“Hey there,” she said, standing and smiling when she closed the book, the red tattoos under her eyes nearly glowing in the light. “How was the flight?”

“Cramped…” Grimmjow muttered, hugging her tightly. “They don’t make those seats for big guys like me. How’s the kiddo?”

She glanced down and smiled. He was very absorbed in a group of earthworms he’d unearthed. “Doing very well, actually. We’ve had some good social steps recently. He’s got a couple friends at school these days, all very sweet to him. They come over now and then, pair of twin girls, their dad is a doctor. Sweet as they can be and they adore Wonderweiss to bits. One of them has been helping with his physical skills by tons, she’s into sports and incredibly patient. She says she’s thinking of being an occupational therapist if professional sports don’t work out.”

Grimmjow smiled. “That’s cool, how old is he now? I can’t keep up.”

Nel snickered. “He’s turning fifteen later this year, baka. You should be able to tell by your own age. Go on in with your boys, I’ll transition him back inside. The girls are coming by today in a while; they usually stop in on Saturdays.”

A few minutes later, Nel came into the kitchen and sat down at the bar. Wonderweiss had been reluctant to leave, but he was more than happy to go in when he heard his friends were coming over. “So, you after a big one?” Nel asked. Just then the doorbell rang, though, and she hopped up, leaving Grimmjow to pour drinks for the other two bounty hunters.

Grimmjow followed her into the room as she opened the door to a girl with short dark hair and a sports jersey for a local team. “Where’s your sister today?” Nel asked with a smile, letting her into the foyer.

“Ugh, clothes shopping with our brother. I swear, I always thought I was the boy, now that he’s dressing like a girl, I realize, I am the boy,” the dark haired girl said with a shake of her head and tossing a baseball between her hands thoughtfully. “But that’s okay. Yuzu can do the shopping thing, I’ll pass on it. Ugh, shoes and crap.”

“Goodness, when did that happen?” Nel asked. “I mean, the whole, him dressing like a girl thing? Just a one off?”  

“Oh, no, Anaki quit hiding the fact that he’s a flaming diva. I mean, sheesh, I’ve known since I was like five that he wasn’t like the other boys. I actually caught him when he was like ten trying to put on a skirt that we’d had given to us for Yuzu that was too big, but it was too small for him. So, you know. Whatever he wants to do. He doesn’t pick on me for dressing like this, so whatever. As long as he doesn’t take me shopping. But, anyhow, we’re actually going to watch him on stage tonight in full drag at the club he’s working at.”

Nel realized she was ignoring her brother who was standing behind her. She hated that the bastard was so damn quiet. “Oh, hey, Karin Kurosaki, this is my older brother, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. He, however, does not wear girls’ clothes like your brother.”

Karin looked him over and nodded. “Yeah, can tell that, what’s up, blue boy?”

Grimmjow nodded. “Nothing much, just got into town. You said your brother performs in a drag show?”

Karin nodded. “Yeah, Las Noches. He’s part of a drag troupe, but they have a burlesque show too. The club is a cabaret or whatever that means. Anyway, I’m gonna go find Wonderweiss. I promised we’d work on tossing the baseball around today!”

Grimmjow looked up and nodded as Shawlong and Edrad came in. “Got a place to start. Drag show, prime targets for our targets.”

Nel looked between the three of them. “It’s them isn’t it?”

Grimmjow nodded. “Yeah, I’m afraid so.”

Just then, Grimmjow’s phone buzzed and he frowned as he read the message. “Dammit. They dumped a body today, that means they’ll be scouting for the next vic. Nel, are there any other places that might be hangouts for young, attractive men?”

Nel frowned. “Well, there’s Las Noches, that’s the big one for gay and straight boys both, then there’s a gay bar down a little further, and I think there’s a mixed strip club a few streets over…quite a few, actually.”

Grimmjow nodded and led the group back to the kitchen and pulled out a clipboard from his laptop bag and started making notes. It looked like the case was going to take off a lot faster than he anticipated. They always picked up a new victim within a week of their body drops, and they had approximately three weeks before they kidnapped the victim for the physical torture. Before then, there would be the stalking and gas lighting.

Grimmjow thought for a moment as he looked down at what he’d written. “Okay, Shawlong, take the bar, Edrad, find the strip club. I’ll hit this cabaret. I thought four would be enough, but we’ve still got less people than can canvas. We know they pick their next victim within days of dropping the body of the last. We’ve got very little time to waste. They’ve got a habit of choosing them when they’re in public. We’ve had victims picked from club scenes, strip shows, dances, and all of them are young, attractive gay males. And remember, there will be something odd about them, one thing that makes them stand out from everyone else. Usually feminine in dress, as well. Look for that.”

Shawlong nodded, running a hand over his dark hair. “Hey boss, I’ll see if I can’t get in to the scene photos of the body drop. And then I’ll see if I can sweet talk the person at the morgue into letting me look at the remains. I know you aren’t keen on looking them over.”

Grimmjow nodded. “Sounds good, let’s catch these bastards. I’m tired of chasing ghosts. We’ve never been in the same town they were when they picked their victim, so we’re doing much better this time than ever before. We only have gotten onto their trail after the kidnappings for the most part. Edrad, you want to start canvasing the malls and shopping centers? See if you can get anyone matching their descriptions. I doubt it will help; they’ve never been easy to catch. Canvas the area around the dump site and question anyone in a business in the area. See if anyone has security footage from today they’re willing to share. I’m going to contact the local police and inform them that we’re in town and hope they aren’t dicks.”

Before long, the other two were gone, and Nel and Grimmjow were sitting alone in her kitchen with steaming cups of jasmine tea. Grimmjow had contacted the local authorities and found them surprisingly willing to accept his help when he explained the situation, some guy named Barragan was lead up on the case, and had already figured out just who had come to Japan. Grimmjow was rubbing his head.

“I’ve got to get them, Nel. I just have to. This has to end, and they should know why it has to end for me so badly. I’m sure Edrad knows there’s more to it than just me wanting the money. I spend more money chasing them than I could ever make off of them, and they all know it.”

Nel patted her older brother’s hand gently. “I know, Grimmy, I know. He’d be proud, you know.”

Grimmjow smiled and looked up at her. “Yeah, but he’d be prouder if I found these bastards that killed him,” he said softly.

“It’s been five years, Grimmy. Please say you’ve moved on at least,” she said, squeezing his hand. “Please tell me you aren’t forcing yourself to be lonely.”

Grimmjow smiled at her. “I’ve dated a few times, sis, don’t worry. Just, chasing these bastards all over the world doesn’t make for a good relationship, you know. Last girl I dated blew a gasket when I told her what I did. And the guy before her was so enthused with my job that he nearly got himself killed when he followed me into the field after a bounty.”

Five years. Five years since the boy he loved had been found mutilated beyond recognition after weeks of torment by stalkers that no one could find. They’d been kids, barely eighteen, but it’s never easy when that first love is ripped away violently by a pair of sadistic serial killers. Granted, Grimmjow didn’t know a lot of people that he shared that particular experience with. Five years since he’d been following their trail from that point, their first kill in Germany just outside Berlin in Bernau where he’d grown up with Nel. Only Nel knew why, though. None of his boys knew why. They knew he was obsessed with them, they knew that he wanted them caught, but they had no idea how personal it was. No, this was more than a bounty. This was justice, and if he ever actually got near them, this was going to be revenge.


	3. Show and Tell

Grimmjow yawned as he stepped out of the cab with Shawlong and Edrad. Di Roy was on his way, a day or two behind. He looked over the large house his sister owned. It had been a long time since he’d been to Japan, too long actually. And he forgot how small even her “large” house was. At least it was big enough that there was an actual second guest house that the guys could bunk in. He opened the gate and let the other two in and as expected, Nel was sitting in her swing reading, while Wonderweiss, the kid she’d adopted a few years ago, was snooping in the grass for creepy crawlies. He smiled and watched for a moment. Nel’s dark green hair was pulled up in a tail behind her head and she was deep into whatever book she was reading, but Grimmjow knew that should the blond teenager puttering in the dirt even breathe funny, she would be aware in a second.

Nel was a gem, to be sure. She had adopted the kid about two years ago. She specialized in working with special needs children, and in her work she had come across the abused boy. When services removed him from the home, she had been lead on his case. They came to have such a great chemistry with each other, Nel decided to officially adopt the boy. He was highly intelligent, but had been diagnosed with autism and his parents hadn’t known how to handle him. He’d been severely abused, and labeled with mental retardation. Turned out he was a victim of circumstance, and probably had a genius level IQ if one could actually test it. He just was a bit obsessed with his favorite things, and had a difficult time with anything remotely social. But Nel had been helping with that. Nel herself had been delayed developmentally due to being born with hydrocephalus. She’d grown up under constant bullying due to her speech impediment. Grimmjow and her two best friends that lived on their street had fought many fights for the young girl. These days, her speech problem was mostly gone. Sometimes, though, it showed up again, usually when she was very excited, or very angry.

“Yo, sis,” he called. She waved and finished her page. Perhaps she’d been more aware of him than he thought. No, she was watching Wonderweiss, of course she knew he was there.

“Hey there,” she said, standing and smiling when she closed the book, the red tattoos under her eyes nearly glowing in the light. “How was the flight?”

“Cramped…” Grimmjow muttered, hugging her tightly. “They don’t make those seats for big guys like me. How’s the kiddo?”

She glanced down and smiled. He was very absorbed in a group of earthworms he’d unearthed. “Doing very well, actually. We’ve had some good social steps recently. He’s got a couple friends at school these days, all very sweet to him. They come over now and then, pair of twin girls, their dad is a doctor. Sweet as they can be and they adore Wonderweiss to bits. One of them has been helping with his physical skills by tons, she’s into sports and incredibly patient. She says she’s thinking of being an occupational therapist if professional sports don’t work out.”

Grimmjow smiled. “That’s cool, how old is he now? I can’t keep up.”

Nel snickered. “He’s turning fifteen later this year, _baka_. You should be able to tell by your own age. Go on in with your boys, I’ll transition him back inside. The girls are coming by today in a while; they usually stop in on Saturdays.”

A few minutes later, Nel came into the kitchen and sat down at the bar. Wonderweiss had been reluctant to leave, but he was more than happy to go in when he heard his friends were coming over. “So, you after a big one?” Nel asked. Just then the doorbell rang, though, and she hopped up, leaving Grimmjow to pour drinks for the other two bounty hunters.

Grimmjow followed her into the room as she opened the door to a girl with short dark hair and a sports jersey for a local team. “Where’s your sister today?” Nel asked with a smile, letting her into the foyer.

“Ugh, clothes shopping with our brother. I swear, I always thought I was the boy, now that he’s dressing like a girl, I realize, I _am_ the boy,” the dark haired girl said with a shake of her head and tossing a baseball between her hands thoughtfully. “But that’s okay. Yuzu can do the shopping thing, I’ll pass on it. Ugh, shoes and crap.”

“Goodness, when did that happen?” Nel asked. “I mean, the whole, him dressing like a girl thing? Just a one off?”               

“Oh, no, Ichi quit hiding the fact that he’s a flaming diva. I mean, sheesh, I’ve known since I was like five that he wasn’t like the other boys. I actually caught him when he was like ten trying to put on a skirt that we’d had given to us for Yuzu that was too big, but it was too small for him. So you know. Whatever he wants to do. He doesn’t pick on me for dressing like this, so whatever. As long as he doesn’t take me shopping. But, anyhow, we’re actually going to watch him on stage tonight in full drag at the club he’s working at.”

Nel realized she was ignoring her brother who was standing behind her. She hated that the bastard was so damn quiet. “Oh, hey, Karin Kurosaki, this is my older brother, Grimmjow Jagerjaquez. He, however, does not wear girls’ clothes like your brother.”

Karin looked him over and nodded. “Yeah, can tell that, what’s up, blue boy?”

Grimmjow nodded. “Nothing much, just got into town. You said your brother performs in a drag show?”

Karin nodded. “Yeah, Las Noches. He’s part of a drag troupe, but they have a burlesque show too. The club is a cabaret or whatever that means. Anyway, I’m gonna go find Wonderweiss. I promised we’d work on tossing the baseball around today!”

Grimmjow looked up and nodded as Shawlong and Edrad came in. “Got a place to start. Drag show, prime targets for our targets.”

Nel looked between the three of them. “It’s _them_ isn’t it?”

Grimmjow nodded. “Yeah, I’m afraid so.”

Just then, Grimmjow’s phone buzzed and he frowned as he read the message. “Dammit. They dumped a body today, that means they’ll be scouting for the next vic. Nel, are there any other places that would be hangouts for young, attractive men?”

Nel frowned. “Well, there’s Las Noches, that’s the big one for gay and straight boys both, then there’s a gay bar down a little further, and I think there’s a mixed strip club a few streets over…quite a few, actually.”

Grimmjow nodded and led the group back to the kitchen and pulled out a clipboard from his laptop bag and started making notes. It looked like the case was going to take off a lot faster than he anticipated. They always picked up a new victim within a week of their body drops, and they had approximately three weeks before they actually kidnapped the victim for the physical torture. Before then, there would be the distance torture and gaslighting.

Grimmjow thought for a moment as he looked down at what he’d written. “Okay, Shawlong, take the bar, Edrad, find the strip club. I’ll hit this cabaret. I thought four would be enough, but we’ve still got less people than can canvas. We know they pick their next victim within days of dropping the body of the last. So we’ve got very little time to waste. They’ve got a habit of choosing them when they’re in public. We’ve had victims picked from club scenes, strip shows, dances, and all of them are young, attractive males. And remember, there will be something odd about them, one thing that makes them stand out from everyone else. Look for that.”

Shawlong nodded, running a hand over his dark hair. “Hey boss, I’ll see if I can’t get in to the scene photos of the body drop. And then I’ll see if I can sweet talk the person at the morgue into letting me look at the remains. I know you aren’t keen on looking them over.”

Grimmjow nodded. “Sounds good, let’s catch these bastards. I’m tired of chasing ghosts. We’ve never been in the same town they were when they picked their victim, so we’re doing much better this time than ever before. We only have gotten onto their trail after the kidnappings for the most part. Edrad, you want to start canvasing the malls and shopping centers? See if you can get anyone matching their descriptions. I doubt it will help; they’ve never been easy to catch. Canvas the area around the dump site and question anyone in a business in the area. See if anyone has security footage from today they’re willing to share. I’m going to contact the local police and inform them that we’re in town and hope they aren’t dicks.”

Before long, the other two were gone, and Nel and Grimmjow were sitting alone in her kitchen with steaming cups of jasmine tea. Grimmjow had contacted the local authorities and found them surprisingly willing to accept his help when he explained the situation, some guy named Barragan was lead up on the case, and had already figured out just who had come to Japan. Grimmjow was rubbing his head.

“I’ve got to get them, Nel. I just have to. This has to end, and they should know why it has to end for me so badly. I’m sure Edrad knows there’s more to it than just me wanting the money. I spend more money chasing them than I could ever make off of them, and they all know it.”

Nel patted her older brother’s hand gently. “I know, Grimmy, I know. He’d be proud, you know.”

Grimmjow smiled and looked up at her. “Yeah, but he’d be prouder if I found these bastards that killed him,” he said softly.

“It’s been five years, Grimmy. Please say you’ve moved on at least,” she said, squeezing his hand. “Please tell me you aren’t forcing yourself to be lonely.”

Grimmjow smiled at her. “I’ve dated a few times, sis, don’t worry. Just, chasing these bastards all over the world doesn’t make for a good relationship, you know. Last girl I dated blew a gasket when I told her what I did. And the guy before her was so enthused with my job that he nearly got himself killed when he followed me into the field after a bounty.”

Five years. Five years since the boy he loved had been found mutilated beyond recognition after weeks of torment by stalkers that no one could find. They’d been kids, barely eighteen, but it’s never easy when that first love is ripped away violently by a pair of sadistic serial killers. Granted, Grimmjow didn’t know a lot of people that he shared that particular experience with. Five years since he’d been following their trail from that point, their first kill in Germany just outside Berlin in Bernau where he’d grown up with Nel. Only Nel knew why, though. None of his boys knew why. They knew he was obsessed with them, they knew that he wanted them caught, but they had no idea how personal it was. No, this was more than a bounty. This was justice, and if he ever actually got near them, this was going to be revenge.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Ichigo was far more nervous than he’d ever been before. He’d been on stage alright, but this time, Karin, Yuzu, and his dad were out there. And he was about ready to die, he thought. Uryuu was primping him at the moment, and he couldn’t stay still.

“Ouch!” he said as he was poked with a pin.

“Stay still,” Uryuu said with a sigh as he stitched a spot where the hem had come loose.

“I’m sorry, I’m nervous!” Ichigo said, crossing his arms and trying desperately not to tap his feet.

“You look amazing, and you are in my favorite outfit tonight. Now, remember, the first number is a fashion show, this is entirely for me, remember, so don’t screw up, please. My dad brought a fashion designer with him, and if he likes what he sees, I may have a shot at getting some real _paying_ work, got it?” Uryuu said with a sigh.

“I know, I know!” Ichigo said with a sigh.

Uryuu stood back and nodded. To be honest, Ichigo was so well suited to dressing in drag, it was annoying. He looked phenomenal. He was wearing a knee length pinstripe skirt with a matching jacket that Uryuu had tailored specially for him. He wore a sleeveless black crop top underneath the jacket that left his stomach open and showed off the fact he had a toned set of abs. The jacket was modeled after a suit jacket, but it was modified a bit. A pair of tails came down from the waist in the back, with an ornate silver button at the small of the back. The front of the jacket was cut up at an angle, leaving it to end at the bottom of the top. The buttons were silver.

“Spin,” he said and Ichigo obeyed, turning on the spot. “Good, now go find your stockings and shoes, and head off to makeup!”

                Ichigo nodded and padded off to do just that. Uryuu sighed. “Szayel, you’re next!”

“Ichi-kun!” came a voice that never failed to make Ichigo smile.

Charlotte Chuhlhourne was the oldest drag queen in the place; actually she was transgender, not just a stage drag queen. She took care of all of them. She came up and hugged Ichigo.

“Darling, look how beautiful you are!” she said, flipping her long purple curls over her shoulder.

Charlotte, though, was built like a male body builder. She stood flat footed at over six foot three, and probably weighed over two hundred and fifty pounds, and all muscle. She didn’t wear falsies, and she didn’t try and mask the fact that she had a male physique. In fact, she showed it off every chance she had. She actually didn’t perform anymore, there had been an accident several years ago and hurt her back pretty badly, and now couldn’t wear heels at all. That alone wouldn’t keep her off the stage, but she also found that standing too much aggravated it, so she gave up the stage in favor of becoming the backstage mom for all the younger drag queens. Tonight she was wearing a long kimono and flat sandals.

“Charlotte, how are you?” Ichigo asked with a smile.

“Good, darling, good. I swear, Uryuu-chan gets better and better with these designs…” she said shaking her head. “He’s going to make something of himself. Didn’t you start school too, darling?”

Ichigo nodded as they headed to makeup and he sat down and let Charlotte go to work. Charlotte was perhaps the single best stage makeup artist the club had. Yumichika was good too, but Charlotte had a level of artistry that could simply not be beaten by anyone.

“Yeah, I’m going for architecture design, but I wish I could live somewhere else,” he said with a sigh.

“No, darling, don’t frown, you mustn’t do that, you’ll get ugly frown lines!” Charlotte said, brushing on the eye shadow. “Why do you want to live elsewhere?”

“Oh, my roommate is a homophobic dick. Doesn’t say anything, but he gives me that look now and then, and he avoids talking to me like the plague. Luckily, I usually get home after he’s asleep and when I wake up he’s gone. Still…bothers me….” Ichigo blinked rapidly after she put the lashes on him. That had taken some getting used to. He had good natural lashes, but they weren’t stage lashes like these. These were heavy and studded with tiny gems.

“Darling, don’t let it get to you,” she said, turning him around and looking into the lighted mirror above his head. “Trust me, the people you need will show up. You, my darling are so beautiful inside and out, and those ugly inside will never taint your beauty.”

Ichigo smiled at the mirror. “Yeah, thanks Charlotte. I know you’re right, just I’m still getting used to it.”

Charlotte nodded. “Darling, just be yourself. If anyone doesn’t like it, tell them to come see me. I’ll give them a lesson in dealing with drag queens.”

Ichigo stood up and kissed Charlotte’s cheek. “You always make me feel better, gotta go get my shoes now, though, see you later!”

He was running down to the change rooms and ran right into two people openly making out in the middle of the hallway. He looked up and saw that it was Findorr, one of the blond drag queens he’d met a couple times but didn’t know too well, and his fiancée Emilou Apacci, one of the security of Las Noches, who sometimes dressed as one of the drag kings on stage.

“Oh, gosh, sorry, Ichi, honey,” Findorr said, reaching down and helping him back up.

“Nah, my fault, my head was elsewhere,” he said sheepishly.

“What’s going on, love?” Emilou asked with a frown.

Ichigo shrugged. “Oh, my dad and my sisters are going to watch today. A bit nervous, he’s never seen me in full drag,” he said, fiddling with the hem of the jacket.

“Oh dear, don’t fret,” Findorr said with a smile. “Just relax. He’s here for you, and that’s what matters,” he said, running a hand through his long blond hair. He looked at Emilou.

“Gotta get dressed, Charlotte will be on my ass if I don’t get to the makeup chair soon,” he said and kissed her gently.

“Break a leg,” Emilou said with a smile and then smiled at Ichigo and wished him luck as well.

Ichigo was still nervous. He couldn’t believe his sisters and dad would see him for the first time. Of course, the fashion show was the first skit of the night, then he’d go on with Arisawa to do a skit where she was playing the man who rescued him from his depression after being dumped by an inconsiderate boyfriend. It would be fun, no doubt.

He got back to the dressing room to find out where his shoes had gone. He swore he’d taken them to the front with him, but now they were gone… He shook his head as he saw them sitting where he had no doubt left them on the bench, and beside his heels, he found a box. It was wrapped like a gift. He smiled and wondered who it was for. He lifted the tag and to his surprise found it was labeled with his name. He lifted the card.

“Ichigo, in apology.”

He opened the box and found the dress he’d been looking at earlier that day, the black and yellow plaid one. He looked up as Hiyori came in.

“Oh, someone loves you,” she teased and came and looked at the dress. Although, Ichigo got the impression Hiyori would rather be caught dead than in a dress.

“Yeah, I guess, no signature, though. But it says in apology. I wonder if it was the shopkeeper. She was rude and refused to sell it to me because I was a guy…maybe she decided to feel bad about it?” he said, frowning and looking at the pigtailed woman.

Hiyori was short, like five foot even, but she was by far the scariest security person on staff. She had a temper to rival hell’s own fury, and so far, she was the only one that Kenpachi actively avoided when she was on the warpath.

“Maybe, but shake that skirted tail, show’s starting in a minute,” Hiyori said with a shrug.

Ichigo grinned and put the box down and covered it again and grabbed his shoes. After he was gone, Hiyori paused a moment and looked at the box, wondering who had delivered it. She’d have to ask Kenpachi. Those who came and went in the back were strictly controlled and no one without security was allowed back there. Someone had to have delivered it up front, and one of the performers or staff had to have brought it back seeing it was for one of the drag troupe. She frowned a bit and tapped the top. It smelled strange, like it had been spritzed with perfume. She shook her head, and adjusted her blonde pig tails and went back out. A puzzle for later, no doubt, she thought for herself. After all, what harm could a dress do?

The fashion show went off without a hitch, at least, from what Ichigo could tell. Of course, with the way the lights hit the stage, he really couldn’t see much when he went out. He hoped his dad thought he did a good job…

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Obviously, he had chosen the most popular spot to show up at, Grimmjow thought as he stood waiting in line. At first he was annoyed at the people passing, but then he realized they were family of the performers, so he guessed that was okay. He was surprised when he felt someone punch him and a voice he recognized spoke beside him.

“Hey blueberry,” said the girl he’d met earlier that day.

He glanced at her and smiled. “Karin, right?”

“Yup, good memory, you going in to watch? Come on, you can come with us,” she said, grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him along. Damn, the kid was as pushy as his own little sister.

Grimmjow started to protest, but he didn’t have time as he was pulled into the lavishly decorated place. He gaped a bit at the sight as he was drug to a table near the front with the name Kurosaki on a placetag. It had four chairs, one already occupied by a man with short dark hair that looked a little uncomfortable. He was turned around talking to a man with white hair that sat at the next table.

“Oi, goatface,” Karin said, and Grimmjow quirked a brow.

“Yes, my darling daughter?” the man said, turning around.

“This is my friend Grimmjow Jagerjaquez, told him he could sit with us. He’s Nel’s older brother, met him over there today when I went to see Wonderweiss,” she said, flopping into her seat beside another girl her age with long brownish hair.

“Isshin Kurosaki, pleasure to meet you. My girls talk about your sister all the time! Amazing work she does with the special needs kids,” he said, reaching over and shaking Grimmjow’s hand in a firm grip.

“I’m Yuzu, the girly sister,” the other girl said, reaching to shake his hand too.

“Well, someone has to be a boy in this family,” Karin said, crossing her arms. “Sure isn’t Ichigo!”

“Hush, now, Karin,” Yuzu said with a frown. “I already jumped all over someone today for being mean to Ichi-nii, don’t you start!”

“You jumped on someone?” Karin said, her face betraying her shock. “Like, more than just sighing at them?” Even Isshin looked surprised.

“She wouldn’t sell to Ichi-nii because he was gay. And I told her off.”

Isshin nodded. “That’s my girl! Defend your precious brother!”

“Hey, you’re Ichi’s sis, aren’t you?” said a voice familiar to Yuzu. She turned and saw the bald Ikkaku.

“Oh, dad, this is Ikkaku, his husband is on stage with Ichi-nii tonight!” Yuzu said. Ikkaku pulled a chair up beside them and nodded.

“Shh, the show’s starting!” Karin said as the lights dimmed, and the full beauty of the room was finally revealed. There were oohs and aahs as always.

Uryuu came out on stage first. He wore a suit and tie and looked quite nice. “Welcome to Las Noches, my name is Uryuu Ishida, and I am the designer for Dangai, and I do some work for Kirikaze and the Heinekos as well. Tonight, we have a special skit, a fashion show of some of our best divas and our best clothes for you to enjoy. Don’t worry, Shinji will come curse at you after my portion is done!”

Applause rang out and Uryuu stood to the side. The spotlight went to the left as the first performer strutted out, Findorr. He was wearing a silver and black evening dress, the front split unevenly up almost to the top of his thighs. The top was off the shoulders, with the sleeves cascading down almost to the floor in silvery falls. The shoes were tall stiletto heels that looked impossible to walk in. He had long blond hair that appeared to be natural instead of a wig.

“Findorr!” Uryuu announced.

Chiruzu, one of the faux queens, went out next in a plaid schoolgirl skirt and a ruffled shirt. Yumichika followed, wearing an exquisite looking dress that looked like it was painted onto his body in splashes of black, white, and peach. Szayel’s outfit was perfect for him, a flirty skirt that resembled a tutu and a corset style top that showed off his fantastic arms by leaving them bare. Luppi was next, using his short stature to his advantage, he looked like a perfect lolli wearing a child-like outfit that looked like a gymnastics outfit with a longer skirt and skipping out onto the stage. Izuru always looked so unsure of himself, but Uryuu used that fact and dressed him in a conservative looking outfit that made him look like a school marm. Then Uryuu smiled at Karin’s table.

“And my newest model, Ichigo!”

Ichigo came out and made his turn and Isshin could not believe it was his son. He stared, mouth slightly agape. If it hadn’t been for the blindingly orange hair, he would have never realized it was him. Even with his hair longer and pulled away from his face and styled, it was undeniably his son’s head of hair. The way he moved, the look, it was all completely different than he was used to seeing on his son…

“Damn,” Karin said. “I’m stunned. My brother makes a hotter chick than most the girls I go to school with.”

Yuzu playfully slapped her sister. “Watch the show!”

There were several more that came out, but the Kurosaki table was not really paying attention to them. And Grimmjow’s focus had been grabbed entirely by the bright orange hair. Out of all the young men that came across the stage, Ichigo was the one with the most distinguishing feature. Sure, the one had pink hair, but he obviously dyed his hair. He hoped he was wrong about that, though, and kept an eye out for anyone else that stood out like that.

Before long, Uryuu stepped back and was replaced by the leader of the drag troupe, Shinji Hirako. Shinji was wearing a bright red leather miniskirt and a black peasant blouse.

“Good evening, Las Noches!” he called. “How the fuck are you?”

There was laughter all around. “Now, on with my show, dammit! Got it stolen but now I got it back. First up, the lovely Ichigo and Arisawa, in their skit, Lost Love!”

Ichigo came out in a different outfit, wandering across the stage slowly. He was wearing a long tiered skirt and a plain peasant style shirt similar to the one Shinji had been wearing. He looked up toward the fake moon. Arisawa came out behind him, dressed in a pair of khaki pants and a plaid shirt. She was donning a bushy beard. The skit was funny, and went for a little while, and then they went back stage. A few more skits were done, and a couple lip syncs, and one actual voice performance by the incredibly talented Ilfort, Szayel’s brother.

Backstage as the final act where they all went out and bowed, Ichigo was debating the dress he’d found. Szayel found him and leaned over. “What’s that?”

“I found it, someone delivered it. I was thinking of wearing it out on the last act, I mean, it’s in a dry cleaning bag so it should be clean, right?” he said.

Szayel nodded. “Sure, let’s put you in it!”

Quickly as that, he was changed and they were all headed out onto the stage to bow in a line for the crowd. All of them had changed, because it was an unspoken rule that they never went out on stage in the same outfit twice. The lights were bright, and Ichigo still couldn’t see very well, but he thought he caught the shape of his sisters and then as he started to sweat under the heat of the lights as various members of the troupe stepped forward to thank their friends and family that had come to see them perform. For some reason, Ichigo felt itchy. Maybe he should have had the dress cleaned after all… Well, it was almost to him, and then he could go take the blasted thing off and wash it. Obviously, he was somewhat allergic to something used at the cleaners. He was new to wearing dry cleaned clothes, so he really didn’t know what was supposed to happen when one had a sensitivity to some of the chemicals in the cleaner. But as more time passed, under the lamps, he began to get more uncomfortable. Luppi was standing beside him and elbowed him.

“What’s up?” he said softly as Szayel talked about Uryuu and his fashion talent.

“Don’t know, I’m…itchy…” he said, shifting his shoulders and then realized that his shoulders were starting to burn. That was weird. But still, it could just be the chemical in the dry cleaning. That had to be it. What else could it be?

“New clothes? Maybe something in it?” Luppi said.

Ichigo nodded and shook his head. He’d started to wobble on his feet, and his brain seemed to be skipping time because now the person beside him was speaking, who was it again? He blinked at the bright lights that seemed to be moving. Well that was weird, wasn’t it? He might have realized something was really wrong if he was able to think straight. He didn’t seem to notice that his chest and back weren’t just itching but were burning, and the more he sweat, the worse it got, trailing down his sides and around his neck. His head was floaty feeling thought, and it was somewhat nice, that odd feeling.

“Ichigo?” he heard and he blinked and realized Shinji was in front of him with the mic. He frowned and looked at it for a second. Shinji snapped his fingers in front of him and Ichigo tried to focus on them but they kept moving…

At first Shinji thought Ichigo was stage struck. With his family present, surely that was all that was wrong. But when he stared instead of responding to his name, he’d walked down to see what was going on with his newest diva. Ichigo, if nothing else, had never experienced a lick of stage fright, and had good stage presence, so to have him freeze was strange. When he got there he spoke and Ichigo seemed to look past him. When he couldn’t focus, Shinji decided something had to be wrong. And then he realized his lips were turning blue, just barely discernable under the lipstick he was wearing, but he could see at the edges of his lips. He was breathing far too fast and Shinji saw his skin was far too red where it peeked out from under the edges of his clothes. What in the hell was going on?

“Ah fuck!” Shinji exclaimed, dropping the mic just as he collapsed forward.

Luppi yelped, and jumped out of the way as Shinji caught him easily enough. Everyone else started to come forward, but a very large Kenpachi scattered them to the back. Shinji looked up at Kenpachi.

“He’s in shock…” Shinji breathed and looked around. His father, his father was a doctor. “Doctor Kurosaki, Keni, go get Ichigo’s father, quickly…what…Luppi!”

Luppi came and dropped. “Did he say anything?”

“He said he was itchy, and I asked him if it was a new outfit and he said yes, then he kinda spaced out…” Luppi said frowning at him just as the dark haired doctor was being led onto the stage from he floor.

“Oh no…what…” he said, dropping down to feel his son’s pulse. Behind him, his two sisters were coming up on stage with a blue haired bloke and Ikkaku, who Yumichika ran and stood by, eyes wide.

“He’s in shock, but from what…” the doctor muttered, and then saw the redness around his neck. He reached and pulled the collar down.

“These are chemical burns,” he said softly, then began to rip open the front of the dress.

“Fuck!” Shinji said, eyes widening. “Yumi, go turn on the shower in the back, quickly!”

Isshin ripped the dress open and the smell of chlorine wafted upward immediately. His brain tried to explain why but he was more concerned with the red burns that were covering his son’s torso. Everywhere the dress had touched bare skin was bright red and some spots were blistering already. He pulled him upward and shoved the rest of it off and found his back in worse state especially along his shoulder blades. Shinji snapped open the bra and the rig fell off as they shucked the rest of the dress off.

“It’s on his legs a bit,” Shinji noted. Ichigo hadn’t been wearing stockings, but just socks with a pair of mary jane shoes. “I’ve got a shower in the back, come on, Keni!”

Kenpachi nodded and picked up the nearly nude boy, and headed to the back with Shinji and Isshin hot on his heels. Isshin stripped off his own shirt and shoes and Shinji was also down to his underpants in a moment and both stepped into the pouring water, holding him up and stripping the rest of his clothes off quickly. The water seemed to wake Ichigo back up and he gasped and started to fight them.

“Ichigo!” Isshin said, holding onto his arms. He really didn’t need anything broken, and he knew all too well how capable of that his son was. “Be still, please, you’re covered in chlorine for some reason, but we have to get it off to stop it from burning you, you’ve already got some second degree burns from it son, maybe worse, I can’t tell yet…it’s just me and Shinji.”

Ichigo focused on his dad and nodded. “It burns, pop…”

“Yeah, I know, come on, we’ll figure it out in a minute, right now we got to flush your skin, okay? You’re a bit shocky, so we have to be careful here, okay?”

A voice outside spoke that Isshin or Shinji didn’t know. “Medics are on the way. Should be here in less than ten.”

Ichigo realized he couldn’t stand on his own so he just let his dad hold him up while Shinji directed the sprayer over his upper back and the front of his shoulders. Where the bra camisole had been, he’d been somewhat protected, but even through the thin material, he’d gotten some redness against his stomach and lower back. Shinji turned off the spray and grabbed a robe from outside and wrapped him up in it quickly just as the paramedics came through the back, led by a worried looking Yumichika.

Once he was gone with his sisters and dad, Shinji stood and stared blankly at the door, dripping wet until someone put a robe around him. He looked up to see Ikkaku and the blue haired man. Yumichika came up and wrapped arm around him.

“What…what the flying fuck just happened?” Shinji asked finally.


	4. Elimination of Suspects

Ichigo was home the next day after spending the night in the hospital. It had been a typical hospital stay and now his dad was changing the dressings before he got visitors. He was under strict instruction to take the week off from the club. The police were coming by in a while for his statement too, and Yuzu’s since she’d been there. He was currently trying to wrap his head around what happened. The police had gotten the results back after they’d picked up the clothes from the club and took statements there. The inside of the dress was coated with powdered chlorine. Now, Ichigo was sporting a bunch of first degree chemical burns and some second degree ones as well. There were two spots of third degree burning that his dad was watching on the boniest part of his shoulder blade where they had been exposed the most to the chemical. He was exhausted though.

He was leaving his shirt off though, he did not care who came by. Isshin finished up and smiled just as the doorbell rang. He headed down and Ichigo followed. The girls were down in the kitchen making cookies. He already smelled the chocolaty goodness wafting up the stairs. He heard the sound of Szayel before he got all the way down the stairs. His dad hadn’t really met any of them yet.

“Oh goodness, you are sooo cute!” Szayel said as Ichigo came down into the kitchen. Szayel was hugging Yuzu as she was trying to stir batter in her apron. “Ichi, you didn’t tell me she was so adorable!”

Ichigo smiled. Szayel was wearing his usual attire, a pink lacy top and a black mini-skirt. He wore a pair of heeled thigh-high boots with it and had his hair pulled up in a pair of pig tails. He wore his usual generous application of make-up. Always a diva, Ichigo thought. Come to think of it, he never saw Szayel when he wasn’t dressed practically stage-worthy. He shook his head.

“Szayel, hi,” Ichigo said grinning and looked up to see Ilfort, Uryuu and Grimmjow had come along with him. Uryuu as usual was wearing a button down white shirt and dark slacks, in complete opposition to his boyfriend’s flamboyant appearance. He wasn’t too familiar with Ilfort, but he knew he was Szayel’s brother, and had a hell of a voice, even sometimes singing with the house band, Kirikaze. He was like Shinji, outside the club, you’d never guess he was a drag queen. He was wearing jeans and a black t-shirt and leaning against the wall. And he’d seen the blue haired fellow with Yuzu and Karin the night before briefly. Ichigo wasn’t sure about him. He honestly didn’t know if he was gay, straight, bi, whatever. He hadn’t hit on anyone that he knew of in the club.

“How are you feeling?” asked Uryuu looking him over. “Dad said you seemed to snap out of it once they got fluids into you pretty quick at the hospital.”

“Yeah, my biggest worry is school. I have to stay home today at least, and Pop wants me to stay the night here instead of the dorm, so I’m hoping my bratty sisters will let me alone…” he said.

Karin walked up behind him and popped the back of his head. “Not bratty, ya fairy.”

Ichigo rolled his eyes. “You’re just jealous because I have more clothes than you do.”

“Am not, you can keep ‘em. Give me my sweats and shorts, and I’m happy,” Karin said, licking the cookie batter spoon.

Just then the bell rang again. “Guys, you want to go to the living room? Dad, that should be the cops, you show them in?”

Isshin nodded and headed to the door while Ichigo led the group to the living room. Isshin watched for a long moment and smiled to himself. The circumstances weren’t good, of course, Ichigo was injured, but still, all these people had come to be with him, to help him, and that was a wonderful thing. Isshin knew how hard it was to find a place in a world that didn’t accept what you were. Isshin had been there, in a different way. His parents were dead set against him marrying Masaki because she was a Quincy, a very old family. Isshin was from the old family of the Shiba, and his mother nearly popped a blood vessel when he told her he was marrying Masaki. So they’d left Tokyo, and moved away from all the drama, and made a happy family here. He sighed and opened the doors and nodded to the two officers who stood there.

Ichigo sat down on the couch beside Szayel and was immediately hugged by the pink haired diva gently. “Oh, Ichi, I was so worried that you were going to be hurt worse! It was bad enough!”

Grimmjow and Ilfort sat together on the smaller sofa and watched. Grimmjow was worried. Everyone seemed to believe that the sender of the tainted dress was the shopkeeper. And he admitted it was suspicious. But then…why would she do such a thing? He suspected it was the Albums. He knew their ways, and this kind of diversion was right in line. He had already contacted Barragan with the police with his thoughts, so these cops should know about it already. Barragan had said the INTERPOL team was en route after the discovery of the body. Well at least they were taking it seriously. He looked up as two uniformed officers came in.

“Good afternoon, Ichigo,” the first one said, a tall, reed thin man with kind of standing up black hair. His partner was a short, petite female who looked very young. “My name is Sentarō Kotsubaki, and this is my partner, Rukia Kuchiki. We’re assigned to the case, and we’ve already talked to Ikkaku and Yumichika at the club last night, now we need you and Yuzu to give statements.”

Ichigo nodded and looked up as Yuzu came in. “Yuzu, you want to go first?”

Yuzu smiled. “Officer Kotsubaki,” she said. “Well, we went shopping and the lady at the store, Anita, was really rude to Ichi-nii, and said she didn’t serve his kind there. So I told her off. Then we left and went to Queen’s Closet, and talked to Yumi and Ikkaku.”

“Do you think she seemed threatening?” Rukia asked, jotting down notes.

Yuzu shook her head. “No, just mean.”

“Okay, Ichigo, would you like to add anything?” the petite woman said with a smile.

Ichigo shook his head. “No, I mean, honestly, if the card didn’t say apology, I wouldn’t think that she could do something like that. I mean, yeah, she is obviously homophobic, but I didn’t think she was the type to do that sort of thing. It is really strange. And it isn’t like I even said anything, Yuzu was yelling at her and I was just trying to get her out and leave. The whole thing is weird, you know?”

The two officers thanked them and left, leaving the group to talk. Szayel hugged Ichigo carefully again. “You don’t know Ilfort yet too well, huh?” he asked.

Ichigo smiled at the blond. “No, but he does a good show!”

Ilfort nodded. “Thanks. When you go back, I was talking to Grimmjow here, and we thought that we’d give you an escort. I’m a trained in security, so I make a good escort. Plus, helps me avoid the ex if I’m busy.”

Ichigo looked at Grimmjow, the blue haired guy. “I don’t think I know you, you don’t work at the club?” he asked.

Grimmjow smiled and shook his head. “Nah, I met your sister over at my sister’s place. I just happened to be there and caught the show, and got swept up into everything. I’m on vacation, so I thought I’d throw my hat in to help out at the club a bit while I’m here.”

Ichigo nodded as Karin brought in drinks and a huge plate of chocolate chip cookies. “Oh sweetheart, you are gonna make me fat,” Szayel said, grabbing a couple.

Uryuu kissed his cheek. “That’s okay, you’re pretty damn skinny as it is. It won’t hurt.”

Szayel sighed. “At least if I get fat, I’m dating the tailor!”

There was a bout of laughter and everyone except Grimmjow seemed to relax. Grimmjow didn’t think he could relax. He had the sneaking suspicion that things were going to go bad, and soon.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Ggio Vega pushed his dark hair behind his ears and walked in. Tonight was his first night at Las Noches since he’d moved to Karakura Town. The last few months had been difficult, but now he was fully healed, mind and body from what he called “The Ordeal”. His parents had set him up in a nice house, and technically, he didn’t have to work, but he wanted to get out and a club like this was the type of place he could mingle with an accepting crowd. He’d been excited to be invited to the troupe of drag performers, and he was looking forward to it a great deal. The place was pretty empty, but he was here early to meet the tailor and get fitted for the clothes that he would be wearing now and in the future. There were a bunch of people sitting at the bar with their backs to him, all with black shirts with SECURITY in white on the back. Seemed like a staff meeting or something, he guessed. He thoughtfully massaged his forearm on the right. Today that one had been acting up. He was glad that he wasn’t expected to hold anything. If he had one of his issues and he dropped something on stage…

Shinji waved at him and he headed toward him, interrupting his thoughts. “Ggio! Welcome, this is Hiyori, one of the security personnel. They’re going to be all on duty tonight, so you’ll see about all the security team.”

Ggio nodded. “Why so heavy on security?”

Hiyori rolled her eyes and flicked a pigtail. “After last night’s incident…we’re taking no chances.”

“What happened?” he said with a frown.

Shinji sighed. “One of the newer boys in the troupe got this dress and looks like it was sent from this nasty shopkeeper that had refused to sell because he was a queen earlier yesterday. He wore it and it was dusted with powdered chlorine of all things, I mean, who the fuck does that? Anyway, he went into mild shock and has some chemical burns, so he’s off for a week until he’s healed mostly up. Quite a mess, and it was his fucking first night on stage with his family here!”

Ggio blinked and his breath caught. No, it couldn’t be. There was no way. It had been almost two years and Madrid was a long way from here. “Hopefully that doesn’t happen often…” he responded, his hands twisting nervously.

Hiyori grinned, but there was a darkness behind that smile, and more than a little anger. “Never has and won’t again. I saw the dress and I was worried, but I thought it was impossible to have danger from a dress. I know better now…”

She left and Shinji led him toward the back. As soon as they got into the back there was a loud thump.

“You goddamned pervert!” came a female voice.

“What, sugar? You don’t like receiving but you love giving,” came a accented voice of a man.

Shinji shook his head slowly. “Nnoitra, Lisa, what now?”

Ggio looked in and there were two people in the next area, a dressing area it looked like. The man was very tall, like taller than anyone Ggio had ever met, and he was flat on his back on the floor while an average height woman with black pigtails had her foot pressed in his crotch as she was reading a manga by the look of it and completely ignoring him except to grind her sneaker into him harder when he spoke.

“He’s being a pervert,” she said, turning the page in her book.

“Fuck, I’m always a pervert,” he said, wincing. “Now get yer foot off my balls, woman!”

Shinji looked at Ggio. “Ggio, meet the local perverts. Nnoitra and Lisa. Don’t let Lisa’s innocent act fool you, all those books she’s reading are hardcore yaoi, mostly bondage or some shit. And nothing makes her happier than to walk in on a couple of the boys making out. Had to kick her out of the dressing room more than once when she followed Szayel and Uryuu back there… Now, Nnoitra, he’s an all around pervert, so watch out.”

“Hey!” Nnoitra said. “I don’t read dirty books! Fuck, Lisa!” he shouted as she ground her foot down. “I’m sorry! Hell, woman, don’t be bending over and shit if ya ain’t gonna wear no panties!”

“I was changing clothes, bastard, thank you very much. I dropped my book,” she said. “You certainly didn’t have to look.”

Shinji shook his head. “Lisa, please don’t castrate your partner. Nnoitra, get your perverted one eyed ass out there and make sure that we’ve got complete coverage on every angle.”

Lisa stepped back and sat down, crossing her legs and flipping the page in her book. Nnoitra stood up and Ggio was taken by how tall he was, but he was thin and wore a bandana over his eye. It was dark red and black plaid. He grinned.

“New boy? For what group?” Nnoitra asked, stepping forward and shaking hands with the very much shorter man.

“He’s with Dangai, just moved here from Madrid,” Shinji said with a smile.

“No shit? You should talk to that Spanish speaking bastard at the bar, Starrk. He grew up in some fuckin’ place I can’t remember, not important, but yeah. I’ll catch ya later, sweetheart,” he said with a wink of his one eye. Ggio couldn’t tell if he was winking or if he had been blinking….

Lisa stood up and shimmied her jeans on under her short plaid skirt with one hand, never taking her eyes off the book. She snapped them and walked out, waving at Shinji as she went. Ggio watched her go and smiled at Shinji.

“Sure have some colorful people around,” he said.

“You have no idea, honey,” Shinji said. “We got the fucking ragamuffin squad around here. I feel like the fucking Statue of Liberty sometimes, taking in all the damn strays. Oh well, that’s what I do, I guess. Oh, here, first I’ll let you meet our backstage momma, Charlotte.”

Ggio nodded and was led back where a very large drag queen was doing make up on a short male in a school girl outfit.

“Charlotte, new boy for the Dangai,” he said as the purple haired man (woman?) looked up and smiled.

“Oh my goodness, another lolli!” she said, smiling even wider. “Darling, welcome, I’m your woman for make-up anytime, but the peacock can help you too,” she said as another person walked by, this one wearing a long skirt and holding a sparkly top in his hands.

“I’m not a peacock,” he said, rolling his purple eyes and flipping his long black hair over his shoulder. “If I’m a peacock, I…well I don’t know what you are, Charlotte.”

“Tsk, now, be nice, Yumi,” the man beside the dark haired one said. He was very bald and carrying a case.

“I’m always nice, my dear Ikkaku,” Yumi said with an eye roll. Ggio noticed that he had feathers decorating his eyebrow and eyelashes on one side of his face.

Shinji sighed. “Ggio, this is one of our divas Yumichika and his husband, Ikkaku. And in the chair here we have Luppi.”

Luppi waved at him as Charlotte finished his make-up. “Would stay and chat, but I’m on stage in the first act, we’ll talk later I’m sure!” he said, running off.

“Do you want me to do your make up tonight, Yumi darling?” Charlotte asked.

Yumichika sighed. “Oh would you? I’m too beat to do it myself.”

“Of course, darling. Now, Ggio, was it? You come back once you get Uryuu to fit you with your clothes and I’ll fix that pretty face of yours right up!”

Ggio nodded and smiled as Shinji led him away. He took him back to the dressing area where a pale dark haired man was arguing with the pink haired diva he was trying to dress.

“Szayel, I swear, if you don’t be still, I’m going to sew it on you,” the dark haired one growled.

“Uryuu-kun, please, I’m horny, and you keep touching the right places…quickie in the back before I go on stage?” the pink haired Szayel said, reaching out and groping the dark haired man’s ass.

Uryuu frowned. “No. And you keep it up, you won’t have sex for a week.”

Szayel frowned and sighed deeply. “You’re so mean, Uryuu-kun.”

“You have to go on in fifteen minutes, and I know you, your quickies take a lot longer than that. Now be still!   I swear if you don’t I’m going to sew a chastity belt onto you in your sleep!”

“Eh hem,” Shinji said with a smile. Both men looked up, the dark haired one turning red. “Sorry to interrupt the lovers’ spat you have going on, and I’m sure you’ll have lovely make up sex later, but for now, Uryuu, your new dress up doll, this is Ggio. Ggio, this is Uryuu, obviously Szayel’s boyfriend, and out tailor.”

Ggio held out a hand and Uryuu shook it. “Don’t mind Szayel, he’s a pervert and all he thinks about is sex.”

Ggio smiled. “That’s okay, I’m sure I’ll get used to him. Seems to be a lot of perverts around here tonight…”

Shinji snickered. “He ran into Lisa and Nnoi first thing. And they were being their usual perverted selves.”

Szayel grinned and craned his neck so he could get a look at Ggio. “Oh my god another one like Luppi. You are so adorable! I love the short ones. I just want to put you in my pocket!”

Ggio smiled, running a hand through his unruly dark hair. “Um, thanks?”

All in all, his first night went well, but at the back of his mind, there was the thought that it was them. He wasn’t afraid; they couldn’t scare him, not anymore. But as Uryuu adjusted the dress he was wearing, he fingered the nearly invisible scars on his jawline from the reconstructive surgery. Could they really be here? And after someone at the club? He never believed in fate, but maybe there was a reason he was drawn to this place the first time he saw it. Maybe he had a reason for all the suffering and pain. Maybe he was meant to help someone else.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

“This was the most boring week ever!” Ichigo complained as he got into the car with Ilfort and Grimmjow.

Ilfort smiled as he buckled himself into the front seat of the black sedan that Grimmjow drove. It was a nice car… He thought it was odd, the windows were tinted dark, and it just felt heavy. He vaguely wondered if it had bulletproof plating. That thought made him wonder if Grimmjow was more than he seemed. Honestly, he’d been hanging out at the club but hadn’t said much about himself over the last week.

“Yeah, a week off once you’ve gotten used to the club scene gets to you. How you feeling?” Ilfort asked with a grin as Ichigo buckled his own belt in the back seat.

“Great, just going nuts waiting for a chance to get back to the club. I really missed seeing everyone and the fun stuff,” he said with a smile. “Oh, and they held that woman for a night but they couldn’t find anything to link her to the dress. She said that day she sold the dress to a woman in a hat and a trench coat, but she didn’t remember anything else about her.”

Grimmjow’s eye twitched. That didn’t bode well. Bambietta was known for wearing a particular hat. But they were at the club now and he’d have to think more on it later. He didn’t have the time to dedicate to it presently. He hoped there weren’t any problems this time as he parked the car. They all got out and Ilfort linked arms with Ichigo with a nod while Grimmjow walked in front of the pair. Ilfort was pretty well trained in fighting because before he became a drag queen at Las Noches he’d been a security officer at a bank. Granted, he didn’t have the training Grimmjow did, but he had enough that he could certainly handle himself well enough. A moment later as they walked past the line toward the back entrance they heard a voice calling out.

“So this is the slut you left me for?” a woman with vibrant purple curly hair stumbled through a group of people and stood swaying on her feet in front of them. A slight change in breeze sent the stench of hard alcohol in their direction.

Ilfort groaned, tightening his grip slightly on Ichigo’s arm. “Cirucci, you’re drunk again. Go home, please.”

“Fuck you, Ilfort, I find out yer fuckin’ a whore like this and ya think I’mma ignore it?” she said, pointing at Ichigo.

Grimmjow had come forward a bit, but since this was obviously between the blond and the woman, he didn’t interrupt. He wasn’t here looking for crazy ex-girlfriends, he was after serial killers and their associates. “Cir, come on, really? I left you because of the drinking. And now this. Ignore her, Ichigo, she’s just sore about the breakup.”

“Breakup? Broke my heart, I still love you, Illfort! Please, leave the…the…slutty boy alone and come back to me! I’ll let you fuck me anyway you want!” she said, running and wrapping her arms around Ilfort and hanging off him. Ilfort let go of Ichigo and stepped back a bit and sighed deeply. She was a mess. He held her up and looked away, her breath reeking of alcohol, bourbon by the smell he thought. “You…you don’t need him! He…he’s not me!”

“Cirucci! Stop this!” Ilfort said, pushing her back to arm’s length.

She stumbled backward and frowned at Ichigo who was just staring. “Too bad that…that dress didn’t kill you…shoulda…shoulda kept you away from my Ilfort!”

Grimmjow stepped forward and steered her away as Ilfort guided Ichigo into the back. “I’m sorry about that Ichigo, she’s rather clingy. She’s got a bad drinking problem, and I just couldn’t take it anymore…and now she can’t seem to give up.”

Ichigo shook his head. “Wow, see, this is why I don’t date women.”

Just then he was hugged by a pink haired man in a bright green dress. He squeaked. It was a very manly squeak, but a squeak nonetheless. “Szayel!” he gasped. “Can’t breathe!”

Szayel turned him around. “I’m so glad you’re back! Come on, Kirikaze is here tonight, and I have _got_ to introduce you to them. Toshiro and Shuuhei are both single…and available…”

Ichigo grinned as he was led by the hand out to the band stage where they were setting up. Szayel hugged the man in the front, a guy with a sixty nine tattooed to his face. “Shuuhei, this is Ichigo, Uryuu’s cousin who was out this week after that bad incident!”

The dark haired man smiled and put out his hand and shook it. “Hisagi Shuuhei, I’m the lead singer. We play about two or three times a month here. Good to meet you! This is Toshiro Hitsugaya, my keyboard player,” he said, motioning to a short man with spikey white hair who also came forward with a nod. “And Momo Hinamori, our other lead singer,” he said and a woman with dark hair came forward.

“Chad?” Ichigo said suddenly, catching sight of someone he recognized. The very tall man turned around.

“Ichigo?” he asked, and came forward, looking at him. “You’ve changed a bit since I last saw you.”

Ichigo smiled. “I…well, I came out, to everyone, and I perform with the Dangai now.”

Chad nodded and looked at Hisagi. “We went to school together.”

“And I’m Kaien,” said the last person, a man about Ichigo’s height with spiked black hair. “I’m the sexist one here, since I’m the drummer. But don’t tell my wife…she’ll get jealous,” he said, shaking Ichigo’s hand.

“Come on, enough of that, Ichi-honey, time to get dressed!” Szayel said and drug him to the back.

Uryuu moved quickly and looked up, making sure the areas of bandages were covered by the dress he was in. “Heard you met Ilfort’s ex tonight…” he said as he hemmed the sleeves of the suit jacket. Ichigo was in an office skit so he was wearing a three piece pantsuit.

“Yeah, she seemed to think I was with him,” Ichigo said with a sigh. “I don’t know why she would think that…”

Uryuu shrugged. “I think it was because you have been on stage with him a couple times, and then he was over at your place several times this week with me and Szayel. She’s a bit possessive even though they broke up already.”

“Well, I hope she isn’t any more of a problem,” Ichigo said as he stepped down and headed out to the stage. He, of course, couldn’t have been more wrong.

At break, he wandered to the bar and sat down and ordered a coke. Starrk was working and sat it down slowly and smiled.

“How are you, mi amor?” he asked, grinning at him.

Ichigo blushed slightly and sipped his drink. “Better that I’m back, but seems like I’ve been away forever, you know.”

At the other end of the bar, Grimmjow sat drinking a beer. He wasn’t officially working at the place, he just told Shinji he was going to hang out around the place, just to keep an eye out for trouble. He watched Ichigo chat with the brunette bartender, Coyote his name was. Who had a name like that? Then he rolled his eyes at himself. Really, like he was one to talk about weird names. He wished he knew exactly what his own mom had been smoking when she named him. He shifted his attention back to Ichigo though when he heard him laughing at something Starrk had said.

“What does that mean?” Ichigo asked, sipping his soda thoughtfully. “Is it Spanish? My friend Chad speaks Spanish, his grandfather was from Spain.”

“Si, mi amor, and amor means love,” he said, leaning forward on the bar. “And mis abuelos, my grandparents, were from Chile. I grew up with them instead of my parents. They were always gone on business. Abuela taught me Spanish from the time I could speak.”

Ichigo smiled, swirling the soda. “So what did your parents do that kept them away?”

Starrk smiled. “Ah, mi mama y papi, they are marine biologists, they moved a lot, so mi hermanita Lillinette lived with our grandparents.”

“So how come you take care of her now?” he asked. “Oh, if you don’t want to answer, you don’t have to answer, I don’t mean to pry…”

“No, esta bien, mi amor. No, mis abuelos were growing old, and Lillinette is spirited. So when I turned eighteen, I took over her guardianship and came here to Karakura Town. Our parents were going to be stationed in Tokyo for a while, so this was nearby and a good place for us,” he said with a soft smile.

Ichigo nodded. “That’s pretty cool, taking on your sister’s care and all. I don’t think I could do it.”

“Ah, it is what I had to do, now, I have una pregunta, a question, for you, mi preciouso.”

Ichigo looked up at him with wide eyes. “What’s that?”

“Would you be willing to go for ice cream with us Sunday?” he said. “I know a date with my sister there isn’t so much…ah private, but it would be best to meet with her too.”

Ichigo blushed hard. He hadn’t ever been asked out for anything before. “Ah, yeah, after my sister’s soccer game, we could pick them up in the park.”

Grimmjow sighed as he watched and then found himself feel…jealous? How could he feel jealous? It wasn’t like he had even expressed interest in him. He was a mark. He was a potential vic. Not someone to date. But still, when Ichigo stood and Starrk kissed the back of his hand with a smile, he felt that pang of jealousy. He couldn’t understand why, though.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

The next night, he had a skit between him and Ilfort. It was a kind of intimate dance number, and Ilfort was playing the aggressive older female dance instructor, and Ichigo was playing the innocent coquettish pupil. There were several near kisses and a several rather raunchy comments from Ilfort meant to leave the younger student blushing. Luckily, Ichigo blushed very easily, and those comments, even on stage, would send blood rushing to his face immediately. It was in the middle of the steamiest part of the scene, where Ilfort was bending Ichigo over backward in a dip when there was a commotion and Ichigo saw stars when something impacted the side of his head. When his vision cleared he was being helped up by Hiyori, and Kenpachi was holding a very drunk looking Cirucci who was screaming at him and Ilfort.

Ilfort hadn’t even seen her that night. As he dipped Ichigo backward in the dance number he heard someone yell and he looked up just in time to see Cirucci clambering onto the stage and throw something, then Ichigo was falling out of his arms and he was stumbling over him as his body went limp. Ilfort blinked and realized she’d tossed one of the weighted highball glasses at him and pegged him right in the temple, the glass shattering and spraying shards all over Ichigo’s face and Ilfort’s hands.

Ilfort stepped between Ichigo and Circucci. “Circucci!” he screamed.

“You fuckin’ bastard! How…how couldya, I’ll fuckin’ kill him this time, sombitch wouldn’t die last time, I…I will make it happen!” she screamed as Hiyori and Kenpachi came running from the back.

Hiyori pulled Ichigo back and checked him over. Other than being slightly out of it, and a few superficial scratches from the glass shattering, he looked okay. He looked at Hiyori with crossed eyes for a minute. Kenpachi meanwhile grabbed the thrashing woman and held her back. Renji had already gone to call the police this time.

“Cirucci! I’m not even dating anyone! You know I do this stuff, it doesn’t mean I’m dating anyone! I’m acting! It is a performance! You know I don’t date men anyway! Why would I change that now just because we broke up?” Ilfort said, taking a towel and wiping the blood off his hands and looking them over. “Seriously! How could you?”

“The…the last time shoulda killed him! And then I’d have you back!” she slurred.

“What does that even mean, Cirucci? Did you have something to do with him and the dress?” he asked, with a frown.

“Dress…” she said with a snort.

A few minutes later, she was hauled off for questioning and Ichigo and Ilfort taken to the back where they were looked over quickly. Ichigo was still dazed, holding a cold compress to his head where it was still bleeding. He had a few cuts on his face and neck, but nothing serious.

“Dude,” he said, looking at Ilfort and shaking his head. “You got one crazy ex.”

Ilfort sighed. “She’s got some issues, but I don’t know if I buy her doing something like the dress thing. She’s had a rough life, and I tried, I really tried to help her. But it is so fucking hard to help someone who won’t let you help them. You can’t make them take your help. She’s a drunk, but doing something like that dress took a lot of planning. I doubt she could have stayed sober long enough. And how could she have known about it anyway? Doesn’t make sense.”

“I guess we’ll find out,” Uryuu said, with a sigh.

“Both of you, go home,” Shinji said, coming out and crossing his arms. “I swear, if I have anything else happen on my stage… And we had everyone here, and still…”

“Shin, you can’t cover every angle all the time,” Ichigo said with a sigh. “But I will take a ride home from someone. My head is most definitely not up to walking.”

Grimmjow smiled from nearby where he’d been listening. “I can take you,” he said. Ichigo looked up and nodded in relief. He’d gotten used to the quite presence of the big blue haired man.

“Thanks, I think I need some sleep after that…I still want to make my date with Coyote tomorrow,” he said and Grimmjow took him by the arm and led him from the room to his car.

“You’ve got some bad luck,” Grimmjow said solemnly as he started the sedan.

Ichigo shook his head, taking out his cell and checking his messages. “Yeah, and then these stupid hang up calls I keep getting. If you have the wrong number, at least say so, don’t just breathe and hang up.”

Grimmjow swallowed recognizing the first stage of Bambietta’s games, hang up calls and messages. Next text messages would start. Never from the same number, and some coming in at the same time from different locations. Investigation would reveal trashed burner phones. “Oh? Getting a lot?”

Ichigo sighed. “Couple a day since I was home. Never same number, so my guess is someone handed out their number and mixed a couple numbers and I keep getting the calls. Oh well.” He put the phone back in his pocket. “Happens.”

Grimmjow dropped him off and watched him go in. Happens. He sighed and rubbed his head. He had a meeting with the INTERPOL agents the next day. More and more this was looking like them. He hated to say it, he really liked this one, he reminded him a little of…no. He couldn’t go there. He couldn’t think of him right now.


	5. Las Noches Crew and Juniors

The soccer game went really well, and Karin was happy because their team managed to pull out a victory with her making the winning shot. She was always happy afterward. She celebrated with her team, yelling and whooping for a while, while Yuzu and her dad cheered from the sidelines. Ichigo had been doing a late show the night before, so coming out to a soccer field at eight in the morning was out of the question, but he had promised to meet Karin and Yuzu in the park and take them for ice cream as a reward. He’d left the message on her phone really late last night, and he sounded a little off, if she didn’t miss her guess. Considering the time, he could have been tired and gotten in late to the dorms, because he hadn’t stayed with them last night. Of course, he could have stayed anywhere, she supposed.

He mentioned he’d probably have a friend from the club with him that had asked him on a date, and because he had a little sister, they were going to take them all for ice cream together. He said another person might be with them too, because his daughter usually hung out with the other girl. He’d been in a hurry so they hadn’t had a chance to ask who the girls were and if they were younger or older than them. It didn’t matter, Yuzu and Karin had decided that whoever it was, they’d be kind, no matter what. They were enjoying some quiet time without their overly energetic father who had gone back to the clinic after the game, although quite reluctantly. Currently, they were coming to the area with the swings.

“I’m going to get a can of juice, you want one?” Karin said, standing up and adjusting her ball cap, and looking toward the large building where the machines were lined up.

“Sure, bring me one,” Yuzu said with a smile and sat down on the swing to wait.

A few minutes later, Yuzu heard a familiar scream. She frowned and saw a group of older kids laughing and she heard a voice she knew. Oh dear, that wasn’t a good sign. She jumped up and ran to where they were at and against the nearby wall she saw Wonderweiss, trying to pick up the shattered remains of something that had been broken, and the three boys and two girls that were standing by them were laughing and taunting him. Yuzu thought they looked vaguely familiar, perhaps they had gone to school with Ichigo or something. They were certainly the correct age. There were two girls and three boys. One boy stood out front of the rest.

“Aw, little retard boy is upset we broke his stupid teacup,” the obvious leader of the group said, his arm wrapped around a girl with dyed blond hair and way too much makeup. He himself had spiked black hair and beady black eyes.

“Leave him alone!” Yuzu said loudly as she ran up and kneeled beside the obviously upset Wonderweiss who was frowning deeply at the ground. “Are you okay?”

“Broken,” he said, holding up shards of the cup, and Yuzu saw that his hands were cut up from trying to pick up the pieces. “Broken for no reason,” he repeated, sighing.

“That wasn’t nice of them at all,” she told him. “I’m sorry, Wonderweiss,” she said.

He turned to Yuzu and fixed her with a small smile. “Okay, Yuzu. You’re here, okay.”

Yuzu smiled back gently and turned and glared at the group. “What is wrong with you guys? You’re a bunch of what, eighteen year olds and you’re picking on a kid?”

The second guy snickered, “He’s just some retard, and his stupid handler went to the bathroom. We were the kind bystanders and promised her that we’d keep an eye on him while she went to relieve herself. Or at least my girl did.”

“Handler?” Yuzu asked. “You mean Nel. You tricked Nel into leaving him here just so you could pick on him?”

“It wasn’t hard. I heard her begging him to go to the bathroom with her, and he was yelling about not wanting to leave his spot. I just said, hey, I’ll stay here with him while you go. She debated, but she musta had to piss or something because she told me to just stand by and make sure he didn’t go anywhere but he wouldn’t move if he didn’t have to because he was ‘obsessing’ or something over that stupid teacup. She’s a freak too, just like him,” the second girl, a tiny girl with hair streaked with bright yellow, said with a smirk. “You’d have to be a freak to adopt something like him.”

“Leave Wonderweiss and Nel alone, you fucking bitch, Danni,” came Karin’s voice as she ran up, dropping two cans of juice as she ran. Karin vividly remembered the one with the yellow streaked hair. Her name was Danni and she’d been in Ichigo’s class, and had always made it a point to comment on Karin’s boyish dress when she was waiting for Ichigo outside the school. She was always with the tall, skinny waif of a boyfriend beside her named Rin. She noted that his own black hair had been streaked with the same yellow of his girlfriend now.

The two girls started giggling. “Hey it’s Kurosaki, that tomboy who doesn’t know how to be a girl, don’t you have that faggot brother?” the dyed blonde one asked. Karin glared at her. She couldn’t remember her name or her boyfriend, but she recognized them both from hanging out with Rin and Danni.

Karin and Yuzu both stood up and glared at them. “Leave my brother out of this,” said tightly.

“Why? You defend the freak behind you and your brother is a bigger freak than he is…” the boy with dyed purple hair said, crossing his arms. Karin didn’t recognize this one, he must have been a new addition to their crew. “I mean, he even dresses like a woman and shit. How much more of a freak can you get?”

Yuzu smirked. “And how would you know, huh? If you’ve seen him in women’s clothes then obviously you’ve been to the drag club he works at, haven’t you?”

The other four started laughing at the one with purple hair. He snorted. “No, I go to see the Burlesque group strip, if you must know. They got this hot babe with huge breasts I’m trying to get to notice me and I saw his faggy ass flouncing around the room in a fuckin’ miniskirt.”

The one with spikey black hair grinned. “That’s my boy, Sammy, that’s my boy. Chase those strippers. And I have to give you props for being able to go into a club that has drag fags. I mean, come on, how disgusting can you get, right?”

The girls giggled. “Really? So their brother works at a drag club? I bet he’s hideous…”

“He’s a hell of a lot prettier than either of you bitches. And the Burlesque group are not strippers, for your information, you bunch of idiots,” Karin said with a growl.

Both the girls gasped. “You little…”

“Hey!” came a voice from behind them. “What the hell is going on here?”

Karin and Yuzu looked over to see two girls around their age, one with cropped pink hair and the other with light green hair walking up. The with pink hair was grinning ear to ear, and the other one had a death glare that could have killed someone.

“Oh, some more freaks?” asked the dyed blonde.

The one with green hair looked at the pink haired girl. “Yachiru, isn’t your dad gonna be here soon?”

She grinned. “Yeah, and he’s bringing his new friend from the club with him. Isn’t your brother gonna be here soon too, Lillinette?”

She nodded. “Yeah, he is. I think he’s coming with your dad; he’s got a date with someone. And he’s taking us for ice cream too.”

“Oh and what are they gonna do?” the dark haired one snorted. “Are they pussies like Kurosaki’s brother?”

“Wait,” Yachira said with a grin. “You’re a Kurosaki? Ichigo’s sisters?”

Karin frowned, realizing that she mentioned ice cream. Ichigo was taking them with him to the ice cream place on his date with a guy from the club. “Yeah, you know him?”

“He’s pop’s new friend! I think he’s got a date with her brother, too!” Yarchiru said, clapping happily. “So you’re going to get ice cream with us! Yay!” she said jumping up and down.

The group laughed. “Oh, great the freaky green haired girl has a faggot for a brother too!” the dyed blond said with a giggle.

Lillinette yawned. “I’d watch what you say around my brother. And he’s not gay, he’s bi. He runs the bar down at the club.”

“Oh so he’s a fairy and a drunk?” Danni said with a grin.

Lillinette didn’t seem bothered at all. “So you lot are a bunch of bigots and bullies, huh?” she said.

“Only around freaks and fags,” the purple haired Sammy said with a smirk. “And looks like we got a lot of them around the park here today. Shame to see it go downhill so much after we got out of school, huh guys?”

                Wonderweiss had stood up and was standing behind Yuzu, his hands on her shoulders and watching intently as the group bickered. “They’re not nice,” he said in Yuzu’s ear. “They broke that cup I found for no reason. Why break something that you don’t have to break?”

                Yuzu patted his hand. “I don’t know, but Nel will be back soon, and my brother will be here, and they’ll make them sorry for bothering you.”

                Wonderweiss nodded and rested his chin on her shoulder. “Okay, Yuzu.”

                Lillinette stood up taller and adjusted the t-shirt she was wearing. “You’re so damn tough picking on a bunch of kids, aren’t you? Did your mommy take away your credit cards? I swear, Yachiru, is it just me, or are these guys really pathetic looking?”

                Yachiru nodded solemnly. “Not even worth pop’s attention.”

                “Oh, you think your pop is tough?” asked the spikey black haired one.

                “I know he is, he loves to fight, you know, but you wouldn’t make him happy. He’s happiest with a good fight, but you wouldn’t last five minutes with my pop,” Yachiru said. “Now Ichigo, I think Ichigo and pop would have fun.”

                “Oh, I bet, since your pop is probably a fairy just like him,” Danni said, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “They’d be doing more fucking and less fighting like the fairy fags they are.”

                Yachiru giggled at her and all the bullies just seemed to frown and look at her strangely. Yachiru smiled and then pointed toward the parking lot. “Oh look,” she said.

Lillinette saw that her brother was walking up from the parking lot with Ichigo beside him. Ichigo was wearing a relatively tame outfit this day, wearing a pair of skinny jeans and a kimono style floral top. He’d tied his hair back with a pair of barrettes and he wore a set of heeled boots. Starrk was wearing a pair of jeans and t-shirt with his long brunette hair pulled back and a cap, and whatever he was telling Ichigo had him laughing. Then they both realized that their sisters were in some kind of standoff with a group of older kids. Ichigo frowned and groaned. He recognized them immediately.

Starrk looked at him. “What is it, mi preciouso, you know those hoodlums?”

“From high school, they’re a bunch of homophobic pricks,” he answered, straightening his back as they got closer. “That’s your sister, right? And Kenni’s girl?”

Starrk nodded. “Si, mi amor. It is.”

They got closer to them and Ichigo and Starrk stopped. Karin and Yuzu looked very red in the face and there was a blond boy hiding behind Yuzu. Ichigo could put together what happened easily enough. Starrk’s sister and Yachiru, Kenni’s daughter, were standing off to the side. Yachiru was giggling madly behind her hand and Lillinette looked completely unbothered and was examining her nails.

“Well, if it isn’t the fairy and his fairy friend,” the dark haired one said.

Ichigo crossed his arms stared at him. “Hinto,” he said with a frown. “Good to see you’re still a dick.”

“And you’re still a faggot, only now you dress like one so you can’t deny it anymore, fairy freak,” Hinto commented with a grin.

“And you’re bothering my sisters. That’s not a good idea,” Ichigo said, casually glancing at them.

Starrk yawned and stretched. “Ichi, you gonna be long, we’re gonna be late for ice cream with the girls there, and after your hermana had a hard game, I’m sure she’s ready for some ice cream,” he commented, scratching his head.

“Nah, they’re just punks I used to go to school with,” he said, sighing. “But I want to know why they’re bothering my sisters.”

“They were bothering us,” the dyed blonde said.

Ichigo looked at her. “Really, Kaida? I doubt that’s the case.”

Karin snorted. “They were teasing Wonderweiss.”

Ichigo looked at the boy standing behind Yuzu. He looked distraught and his hands were bleeding, and he could see the red was staining Yuzu’s shoulder where he held onto her light pink blouse. There was something shattered on the ground, shards of glass or porcelain. Ichigo glared at the group. “Really? How old are you guys, seven?”

Yachiru and Lilinette had come around and were standing by Karin and Yuzu now. Wonderweiss didn’t look as upset as he had before, Ichigo noticed. Then he remembered that Karin and Yuzu went over to visit the boy on the weekends and that he was a little different somehow, but it really didn’t matter how different he was, these pricks didn’t have a right to tease him.

“I think you guys should move on,” Ichigo said, nodding. “I really do.”

“You gonna make me?” Hinto said, putting his hands on his hips. “A fairy boy like you?”

Ichigo rolled his eyes. “You know I can, Hinto, or have you forgotten that the last time you wanted a fight? You ended up on your ass.”

The other two guys started laughing at their “leader”. “This fairy beat you?”

Hinto glared at them. “It was a long time ago, and I won’t lose to the likes of this freak anymore. I’ve gained a few skills since we were in middle school, and even if you weren’t a fag back then, you were still a freak with that stupid orange hair you have.”

Just then there was a bellowing voice behind them. “Yo, Ichi, you got problems here?”

Ichigo turned around and grinned. “Kenpachi! Took you long enough to get here. Don’t tell me you found a fight between the parking lot and here…”

Yachiru leaped up and climbed up his massive back. “Pop, there ya are! Are we going with them for ice cream while Starrk goes on his _date_ with Ichi?”

“Of course, you and Lil are inseparable. And besides, someone’s gotta go to watch you buncha brats in case Coyote and Ichi disappear to go make out or something…” he said with a grin.

The group of hoodlums were staring in utter disbelief at the huge man that had walked up beside Ichigo and Starrk. At six foot seven, and well over two hundred pounds, he was massive. He was still wearing his black Las Noches Head Security t-shirt. He fixed them with a glare with his one uncovered eye. He wore a black eyepatch on the left one.

“They giving ya trouble, Ichi?” Kenni said, looking over the incredibly small looking boys compared to the massive man that Kenpachi was.

“They’re a bunch of bullies, Kenni. Not worth your time, hell, they aren’t worth the time I’ve given them already. Girls, you want to invite Wonderweiss? Do you like ice cream, sweetie?” Ichigo said, moving over and smiling at the boy behind his sister.

Wonderweiss nodded. “Vanilla ice cream with chocolate sprinkles, no caramel sauce, no rainbow sprinkles, in a waffle cone.”

Ichigo grinned wider. “I think we can do that, sweetie. Now where’s…oh hey, isn’t that Grimmjow?” he said, standing up straighter, seeing the bright blue head of hair coming toward them beside the green haired woman.

“Yeah, he’s Nel’s brother,” Karin said.

Ichigo waved. “Grimmy!” he called.

Grimmjow waved back and the pair hurried their steps and Nel gasped when she saw the state of Wonderweiss’s hands. She saw Karin and Yuzu and then glared at the five teens who were still frozen in place. She narrowed her eyes at the girl.

“I thought you said you were going to keep an eye on him,” she said in a dangerously calm voice.

Grimmjow placed a hand on her shoulder. “I think Ichi has this under control, sis,” he said, smiling as Ichigo stood up after patting Wonderweiss on the shoulder. Grimmjow didn’t miss the smile on the boy’s face. Wonderweiss didn’t smile all that often, in fact, his smiles were usually reserved for Nel alone. To see him smile so openly for someone else meant a great deal. It seemed Ichigo had already connected with the boy.

Ichigo moved forward and stood in front of the taller boy, glaring up at him, hands fixed on his hips. “You are a pathetic piece of shit, you know that, Hinto? Picking on a kid with autism, then daring to pick on my sisters because of _me_. They have nothing to do with me, you bastard. They live their lives, I live mine. And if I choose to work a drag club, and dress like this, you got no cause to say a damn thing with your dye job girlfriend who wants to be Caucasian so bad I bet she has that stupid eye surgery before she even turns twenty. At least I know how to be myself, unlike you bunch of fake assholes. Now, either leave now and don’t bother my sisters and their friends, or I’m going to show you exactly what this ‘fairy fag’ can do to your bigoted, rotten face.”

Hinto snorted, and looked around, the others had pulled back a ways, even his girlfriend. “You aren’t fuckin’ tough without your heavy backup.”

Ichigo cocked an eyebrow and winced because his temple was still sore from being hit with a highball glass the night before. “Really? I don’t need Kenni or Coyote to kick your ass, trust me. Now get the hell away before I do something _you_ regret.”

Ichigo turned to walk away, and as soon as he did Hinto moved and grabbed him by the back of the hair and Ichigo grimaced, a look of annoyance crossing his face as he spun around in the loose grip and leveraged the larger teen over and slammed him face first into the grass, both of his hands gripped in a steel grip above his head on the ground as Ichigo’s heeled boot pressed into the small of his back. Ichigo, with his extreme flexibility, had managed to lean all the way down with his hands over his head while still standing straight legged. The move certainly wasn’t something most could pull off, and only his long limbs allowed him to do a hold like this. It gave him room to move away in a second should he be attacked from another angle, but kept the person immobilized.

“Don’t be so pathetic and attack from behind, you want to fight me, come at me from the front, as it is I won’t even bother with your sorry ass. I don’t like bullies, and I really don’t like cowards,” he said and threw his hands aside and stepped off him and headed over to the others. “Nel, Grimmy, want to bring Wonderweiss while we go get ice cream? Seems my date with Coyote is turning into a full on ice cream social!”

Grimmjow stared at the young man and shook his head and smiled. “Yeah, come on, Nel, why not?”

They all headed to their respective cars, and to Ichigo’s surprise, Wonderweiss grabbed him by the hand and pulled him to Nel’s car. He smiled and looked at them. “May I?”

Nel arched a brow and nodded, surprised. Ichigo turned to Kenni and Starrk. “Hey, meet you there, gonna sit with my new friend here!”

Starrk grinned and nodded, getting in with his sister and Kenni. Karin and Yuzu hopped in with Lillinette and Yachiru in the back of Kenni’s SUV. Before long they all poured out at the ice cream place, all the kids getting together around a table and chattering, while Ichigo sat down with his hot fudge Sunday at a small table with Starrk nearby the larger table of energetic teens.

“They sure enjoy themselves,” Ichigo said with a smile.

Starrk nodded. “You are good with the boy.”

“Wonderweiss?” he asked, glancing over to see the blond boy concentrating on his very particular ice cream cone and Ichigo grinned.

“Yeah, well, I know what it is to be different and not able to help it. I don’t know a lot about him, but I was surprised to find out that Grimmjow there turned up at the club and he was Nel’s brother. Such a small world, then Lillinette goes to school with my sisters…and Yachiru, she’s a couple years younger, right?” he asked, seeing the pink haired girl excitedly detailing a story to the rest of the table. Nel and Grimmjow had taken up the table next to Ichigo and Starrk while Kenpachi was dealing with the massive table of kids easily.

“Surprising, si?” Starrk said. “Kenni is a natural.”

“Yeah, never figured him for the father type…” he said. “But he knows just what to do. Does he have a wife or something?”

Starrk sipped the root beer float he’d gotten. “No, Yachiru’s mama left when she was una bambina. She left her with Kenni, and Kenni has taken care of her ever since.”

Ichigo grinned into his sundae, licking the spoon thoughtfully. Starrk seemed to stare at him and Ichigo realized what he was doing. He blushed and put the spoon down.   “Sorry,” he said, looking away. “I didn’t…I mean, I wasn’t…”

“Shh, mi amor, no problema. Now, do you wish to know any more about me? Or are you satisfied?” he said with a soft smile, leaning back in the chair.

“Actually, if you lived with our grandparents in Chile, how in the world did you end up in Japan?” he asked with a smile.

Starrk nodded. “Ah, that’s a good question. Mis abuelas moved to Japan to work originally, porque mi mama grew up near Kyoto but they decided to stay after Pinochet took over Chile, they didn’t agree with the politics of the time. And they enjoyed the area around Tokyo. I found it too fast paced, hence the move aqui.”

Ichigo nodded. “So your grandparents were your dad’s parents.”

Starrk nodded with a smile. “Si, mi papi was from Chile, mi mama was from Japan.”

“Fascinating…” Ichigo said with a smile. Then there was a beep and he looked at his phone and shook his head.

“Something wrong?” Starrk said.

Ichigo shook his head. “Wrong number, been getting them lately…” he said, putting his phone away again. That was the third one since he had come to the ice cream place. It was a little creepy.

At the next table Grimmjow’s gaze kept going to the other pair. Nel put her hand on his finally. He looked at her with a surprised expression.

“He’s got his heart,” she said softly so no one else could hear. “That’s why you are dwelling on him.”

Grimmjow opened his mouth to say something then closed it. “I’ve got a meeting, sis, so I’ll meet you back at the house later, okay?” he said and stood, leaving without telling anyone else he was going. He didn’t notice that Ichigo watched him go.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Grimmjow sat in the otherwise empty conference room and waited for Barragan to come back with the INTERPOL agents. He was still dwelling on the conflicting emotions and his sister’s words. It was true, too true, that he had a gentle heart. And Grimmjow didn’t want to see that fragile being broken. He knew, though, too well what was happening. He had been very aware of the fact that Ichigo had stopped at least five times and checked his phone, and each time he seemed to look confused and annoyed before he put it back up. It was nice to see that the stupid woman’s attack on him the night before hadn’t phased him. Of course, minutes after coming inside under the good lights, both his sisters were after him about the bruise on his head, so he had to detail the entire story before they let him go sit alone with Starrk for their date.

Cirucci was being held on suspicion for now, but Grimmjow knew that it wasn’t her. He could feel it, deep down, he knew. Just like when he got the call for dismembered bodies dumped nearby, he knew. It was them. He was a bit annoyed though, because it seemed that Ichigo wasn’t taking his own safety seriously. Then again, why should he? He probably thought that Cirucci was at fault, and that he was safe. So he was out having ice cream with Starrk and having his head kissed by the larger man and… Ugh, he moaned. Why was he fixating on the fact that he was on a date with Starrk? He shouldn’t be bothered, it was another person to keep an eye on him…but still…when he’d seen Starrk lean over and kiss the top of his orange hair right before he left, he wanted to punch him for some reason. And he didn’t get it at all. He wasn’t _him._

The door opened and the older Barragan entered with three men, one older man and two younger ones, one of which appeared to be an albino by his skin tone.

“Grimmjow Jagerjaquez, allow me to introduce the team on the Album case. This is Agent Zangetsu,” he said pointing at the oldest man, who wore wrap around glasses and a loan coat. “Agent Tensa,” he said, motioning to the second man with longish dark hair and his hands stuffed deeply into his jean pockets. “And Agent Shiro,” he said, arching a brow at the white skinned man.

“Dude, they’re all fake names, so deal with it,” the white haired man said flopping down and draping a leg over the corner of the table.

Grimmjow grinned at the shortest of their number, the albino and noted the strange color of his eyes, black sclera and golden irises. He nodded. “So, bluebell, I hear you been chasing these suckers longer than we have,” he said with a grin.

Grimmjow nodded. “I have. Their first kill, outside Berlin in my hometown, was someone close to me.”

Zangetsu and Tensa sat down and picked up the files at their table. “Yeah, name was Hanataro Yamada?” Zangetsu said with a nod at the file.

At the mention of his name Grimmjow closed his eyes. How long had it been since he thought of him? Really? And why did this stupid orange headed brat remind him of his Hanataro? “He has his heart” rang in his mind. He shook away the thoughts.

“Ah, yeah, I read somewhere that he was your boyfriend,” Shiro said, putting down the paper. “What happened? You’re a hard man to find, and we never could track your blue haired ass down to take a statement after they started country hoppin’.”

Grimmjow sighed. “Yeah, I guess I should start there, Hana and I went to school together. He was short, little thing, bullied from day one by everyone, including me. Then one day, I realized he was good kid, just trying to make it to medical school, you know? So instead of beating on him, I started defending his scrawny ass.” Grimmjow paused and smiled. “It was one of those things, I never was straight or gay, still don’t see the world that way, but Hana and I…we made something together. We were out a few nights at a club. Then…one night, he started getting these text messages, and phone calls, and strange gifts, I’m sure that’s all detailed. Things started disappearing from his room and things would be moved. Strangers would come up and know intimate details of his life. All of it was too strange, and Hana was sure he was going insane. It was only with me there to confirm that these things were happening that he managed to keep it together. We didn’t know what was happening, but I kept him close as I could, and then, he was just gone.

“Then weeks later, his body was found, and a photo album showed up on my doorstep. It had pictures of everything the sadist fuckers did to him. You have those photos, so I’m not gonna go into it. I couldn’t contain my rage. I ended up hanging out at the bars and getting drunk and in fights, until I got picked up by a cop who knew the case. He helped me out and told me if I wanted to do something for Hana, I could catch them. With the help of the cops I got the training I needed and I left, following their bloody trail.”

Shiro nodded and looked to Zangetsu. Zangetsu nodded back. “We wanted to confirm that this wasn’t about money. We’ve eschewed working with bounty hunters because of that, since this is personal, we really shouldn’t bring you in, though, you’re a part…”

“I’ve already got contact on the next victim.”

All three INTERPOL agents glanced at each other. “Really?”

Grimmjow nodded, reaching down and pulling a file from a briefcase at his feet. “Guy’s a drag queen at the local Cabaret. Recently come out, cute as a fuckin’ button, just their type. Only thing is, this one isn’t going to be easy like their normal marks.”

Tensa handed the file to Zangetsu. “What do you mean?”

“Boy has skills. Like, has a fuckin’ black belt, like two or three degrees in, and doesn’t hesitate to defend himself or others. I watched him earlier today drop a guy at least fifty pounds bigger than him and had at least four or five inches on him, and he did it without a second thought, and without even getting out of breath. He’s got instincts, reflexes, dexterity…if they think he’s going to be easy…they’re wrong,” Grimmjow said leaning back.

“Wait, he works at Las Noches?” Shiro said looking up at the other agents. “Isn’t that where the Spanish diplomat’s kid went to work?”

Grimmjow arched a brow. “Spanish diplomat?”

Shiro nodded. “While they were Madrid, I’m sure you only found two bodies. Reason is that there was a survivor.”

Grimmjow blinked and leaned forward. He didn’t know anything about any survivors, though the two strikes in Spain were strange. He had thought at the time they had simply been scared off of their mark. “What?”

“Name is Ggio Vega. The only one they didn’t kill, though it was close. Unlike the rest, he wouldn’t break. Guess is the woman couldn’t get her rocks off without the boy breaking, and they beat the living hell out of him and left him in an abandoned warehouse. His father’s a diplomat and everything went under the table, and after a couple years of plastic surgery, he’s had the damage to his face and arms repaired. They took great glee in using acid and breaking almost every bone in his face, arms and hands before they left him to die alone,” Shiro said, handing over a file labeled with “classified” across the front. “He moved here, of all places, outside Tokyo, away from the big city, in an attempt to move on. And now, here he is in the same town as they are.”

Zangetsu nodded. “Order a detail to cover his house,” he said to Barragan who nodded. “What makes you so sure this guy is their target? Looks like you got this woman in custody…”

Grimmjow shook his head. “She’s a drunk, not a killer. No, there are too many variables. There wasn’t anyone who could have seen that particular dress unless he was being watched. The shop owner was cleared, and then with this woman attacked him, he was getting hang up calls. I was with him earlier today and he is getting some kind of text messages on his phone.”

Barragan smiled. “We can find out about that,” he said, getting up and going to pull records. “Give me a minute, I’ll get his text records from the phone company.”

“Are you going to be clear headed for this?” asked Tensa, arching a sculpted brow at him.

“I want them caught, I’m not going to fuck it up, if that’s what you want to know,” Grimmjow said. They all looked up as Barragan handed a stack of papers to Agent Zangetsu.

“Well, you’ve got the right victim,” he said thoughtfully and handed it to Grimmjow.

Grimmjow grimaced, recognizing all too well some of what was printed on the page. He cleared his throat and read.

“You should consider stripping instead. Too bad your daddy ripped that pretty dress, does he ever do that when you’re alone? You should change to wearing blue more often. Taking the kids for ice cream? How homely.”

“They’re all from different or blocked numbers,” Grimmjow commented, laying it down. “It is definitely them.”

“So we bring him in?” asked Shiro.

“Hasn’t worked before, and you know it,” Tensa said. “We’ve brought four in for protection, and every time they got to them, and we lost agents each time. They’re vicious and unrelenting.”

Grimmjow nodded. “Okay, how about I take him to my sister’s place. She’s got a large house, fenced and gated, security and everything, and I know it won’t stop them, but it would be better than his place. His dad runs a clinic next door and there are people in and out all the time.”

The agents exchanged a glance. “Sounds like it might be viable, and keep our involvement quiet, that way we have the advantage of surprise,” Zangetsu said with a nod. “Shiro, you go with Grimmjow to meet the kid. Take the files, explain it to him, and then you are to stay in house with them, but keep your identity as INTERPOL secret. You’ll be one of his bounty hunters, got it?”

“Got it, boss,” Shiro said, mock saluting the older man.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Ilfort sighed as he stood outside the door. He opened it slowly and went into the room where Cirucci was sitting, one hand cuffed to the table she was seated at in the otherwise empty room. She turned her red eyes on him.

“Ilfort, I didn’t do it, I swear, your friend, I didn’t hurt him!” she said, tears springing to her eyes immediately. “I mean, I guess I did when I threw that glass at him, but I didn’t have anything to do with that chemical stuff, I swear!”

Ilfort sat down across the steel table from her and nodded. “I know, Cirucci. And they know too. We don’t know who attacked him, and Ichigo’s not pressing charges on you even though I advised him that he should.”

Circucci swallowed hard and looked down. “I...I…thank him for me.”

Ilfort sighed. “What are you going to do? What is all this?”

Circuci swallowed. “I just…I can’t deal with rejection, I mean, I thought you were perfect. I guess I should have known that meant you would leave me eventually. But the fear of you leaving led me to drink, and then the drinking made you leave, so it’s just a whole fucked up cycle.”

“Why would you think I’d leave you, Cir?” he asked, running a hand through his hair.

“Everyone else did,” she said with a sigh. “My dad left when I was a kid, every man in my life just up and leaves me, and I guess…I guess it got to me. And when I find a good guy, like you, I get so…so scared that you’ll all leave me. And then when I drive you away by being so obsessed and clingy, I fill up that empty space with the alcohol because then I don’t have to think anymore.”

Illfort reached across the table and put a hand on her free hand. “But if it wasn’t for the drinking, I wouldn’t have left you, Cirucci. Even with you texting me every hour, I could have lived with it. But the drinking, I couldn’t take that. You…you turn into a person I don’t know with the alcohol. I know you don’t remember, but some of the things you said when you were drunk…I just wanted to run away then and there, but I waited until you were sober so I could tell you I was leaving.”

“Um, well one of the officers, uh, Rukia Kuchiki I think, she’s working on Ichigo’s case, she helped me set up going to Osaka to a center to help me get off the booze. She’s really nice, I guess her brother is an investor at the club, and her boyfriend works security there,” Cirucci said with a sad smile. “Maybe…maybe when I’m clean…maybe we could go out for lunch or something?”

Ilfort squeezed her hand gently. “You come back clean, and I’ll have lunch with you. And if you stay that way, who knows what happens in the future? I already tried to tell you I wasn’t seeing anyone, and I haven’t got plans to go looking.”

Cirucci nodded. “Okay, I mean, I don’t know if it will work, but Rukia seemed to think it was worth a shot because they’d help me with the abandonment issues I’ve got, and get me through the withdrawal and stuff.”

Illfort nodded. “You need to talk, you’ve got my number, use it, Cirucci. I care aobut you, I always have, you know.”

“I know, and I think you’re the first man in my life that’s cared enough to leave me for the right reasons, and I hate that I made you leave,” she said sadly.

Illfort squeezed her hand again. “Just get through it. The future looks bright, whether you know it yet or not. I’ll be here, and Ichigo, well, the bloody brat just wants you to take care of yourself. Gave him a hell of a headache though,” he said with a smile.

Cirucci nodded. “I’m so sorry. Please tell him that. I’m leaving tomorrow for Osaka. I guess Rukia’s brother is going to send a car or something as a favor for his little sister.”

Illfort nodded and stood up. He went around and kissed her cheek gently. “Just be a better you, Cirucci. That’s all you have to do.”

With that, he left, and Cirucci descended into sobs again. It hurt so much, watching him leave again, but she had to stop this madness, one way or another. The alcohol didn’t fill the empty hole in her heart, it only made it bigger. And all she could do now was try and figure out how to fill that hole for good. Sometimes, she just felt so very hollow.


	6. Strip Teases and Sake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note there has been a major edit of chapters 1-5. While not necessary to reread, I recommend it. At least, however, re-read the end of chapter five where an important scene as been added.
> 
> Chapter Six: Edit/Reupload 4-18

Rangiku Matsumoto was a woman with incredible assets. Of course, most men saw the size of her breasts and assumed those were her only assets. They would have been woefully misinformed, however. Rangiku was endowed with a keen mind, and actually held a master’s of business administration. She’d originally started the Hainekos, and actually she technically owned them and the name. She’d hired her manager Ulquiorra Cifer so that she could concentrate on the show rather than the business end. Ulquiorra had been a friend of hers during her master’s studies at the university. The short, pale man had endured torment and teasing from an early age because of his albino like complexion. Rangiku had been struck by the brilliant green of his eyes and the strange scars on his cheeks that had been inflicted by his mother as a child. Shortly thereafter he’d been taken into foster care by a good family that had supported him throughout his school career.

After all the work getting the business degree, though, and then starting up her own company, Rangiku found she would have little to no time to do what she really loved, and that was to work with the Hainekos and choreograph the group scenes. Her initial bachelor’s degree was actually in dance instruction. She went to Ulquiorra, who was struggling to find a job still, and she offered him the position of business manager of the Hainekos. He greatfully accepted, because Rangiku had been one of the few kind people in his time at the university.

She came out on the Las Noches stage and clapped loudly. “Come on folks, we have three hours before the drag show starts and we lose the stage, and we’re headlining with the new one tonight!”

“We need more extras, Rangiku!” came a voice from the back, Soi Fong she thought. “We don’t have enough elves!”

Rangiku rubbed her head. The show for this month was Lord of the Rings: A Burlesque Parody. They were taking a basic plotline from the show and using the teases, and the ring didn’t exactly fit on one’s finger. But there were a ton of characters, and they didn’t have a huge cast. She rubbed her forehead again. It was a bad habit because she had a perpetual spot in the middle of her forehead that was missing makeup.

“Okay, let’s see what we do have,” she said, picking up the cast list for the show. “Soi Fon as Frodo, we asked Luppi to come in and play Sam, and the new one Ggio to come in and play Pippen. Merry is going to be played by Sung-sun. I’m playing Gandalf. Yoruichi is playing Strider, Menoly is playing Legolas. Tier is playing Gimli. Kukaku is playing Boromir, then she’ll switch and play Faramir after he croaks. That takes care of the main characters. Dordonni will be playing the Orcs and Goblins as well as the crazy old king. Loly is playing Arwen. We need an Elrond, and a Galadriel, as well as some elf extras. Who should we ask?” she looked around.

Tier looked up. “I say ask Findorr, Illfordt, Szayel, and that new one, Ichigo. Got the skinny body type for an elf.”

Rangiku looked down and nodded. “Findorr and Illfordt have that long pretty blond hair too. Are the drag boys back there yet?” she asked, looking over at Luppi.

“They should be, I know that Szayel is always early with Uryuu and I’m sure Ichigo came with them, he’s Uryuu’s cousin,” he said with a nod. “And after the two times he’s had a dive on stage, I don’t think Shinji lets him go anywhere alone.”

Rangiku nodded, she had heard of his two mishaps on stage. Rumors were already rampant that the boy was cursed or something. “Of course, okay, you guys run the lines. I’ve got to talk to Uryu anyway, my pasties keep falling off in the middle of the show. I’ll go recruit us some elves!”  

Rangiku headed back and heard Uryuu before she saw him and smirked. As usual, Szayel was giving him a hard time.

“But Uryuu-kun, I don’t want to wear one,” Szayel was whining as she came around the corner.

“Now, what is your big, bad boyfriend trying to get you to wear that you don’t want to wear,” Rangiku said with a grin, putting both hands on her hips.

Uryuu looked up and smiled softly. “He’s bitching because he has to wear a panty and tuck tonight. I can’t help it that the skit calls for you to wear a swimsuit.”

Szayel frowned and crossed his arms. “Fine.”

“Well, what do you say about being an elf in the Burlesque show tonight?” she asked, smiling at him. “You know we’re doing the Lord of the Rings thing tonight, so what do you think? We need some extras, and you wouldn’t have to strip tease if you didn’t want to…”

“Who else?” he asked, grinning wider.

“Stop moving, dammit!” Uryuu said, poking him with a pin.

“I’m going to ask Findorr, Illfordt, and Ichigo,” she said with a smile.

“I’m in,” Szayel said with a grin.

“When Uryuu’s done with you, go on out and the girls and Dordonni will tell what to do. Do you want to be Galadriel or Elrond, or just a generic elf?”

Szayel thought. “I’ll just do the generic elf so I can have more scenes!”

“Okay, go on, stage hog,” Rangiku said, shaking her head and headed back where she found Illfordt and Ichigo sitting near Charlotte’s waiting for their makeup. Both of them were already dressed for the night, only missing having the makeup and hair done. Ichigo was wearing a fuscia slinky dress that clashed horribly with his hair, and Illfordt was wearing a glaringly red dress with puffy sleeves.

“Good lord, what are you two doing in those awful clothes?” she asked.

Ichigo grinned. “We’re doing a ‘bad prom dress’ spoof skit. We go out first in these, then come back for a ‘make over’ and go out in something nice.”

Rangiku smiled. “Okay, well I was wondering if you two would want to be in the Burlesque show tonight. I need some extra elves, and you two got the look I need. Don’t have to do the strip tease if you don’t want to, but they are fun. Especially since you’ll be in drag and strip off to reveal that you’re male underneath.”

Illfordt shrugged and looked at Ichigo. Both nodded. “Why not, it sounds fun,” Ichigo said with a grin.

“Illfordt, would you want to do Elrond?” she said to him. “And maybe a couple other bit elves here and there. “And Ichigo…you’ve got stage presence, so you’ll do Galadriel. Now, do you guys know where Findorr and his lady have disappeared to?”

Ichigo grinned. “Last I saw they were in the break room attempting to survive without oxygen,” he said with a wink.

Rangiku shook her head. “Those two, like teenagers… You two, go out to the stage and tell the girls what you’re doing and then they’ll tell you what to do. I’ll go find my last elf.”

She turned and headed down to the break room and listened for the telltale signs of sex in progress. She had more than once walked in on an unsuspecting couple. She didn’t hear anything so she went in and found the pair cuddled up on the sofa reading together.

“You guys are going to rot my teeth, you’re so sweet,” Rangiku said. “Findorr, hon, you want to help me tonight? I’m doing the Tolkien stuff and I need some extra elves.”

Findorr nodded. “Sure, you got the costumes already or do I need to find something?”

Rangiku smiled. “Just get your butt to the stage with the others and the girls and Dordonni will get you set up.”

She turned and left, and headed out to find Shinji, figuring he was in his office. She knocked three times and heard a crash and voices inside. She sighed and looked up as he opened the door, looking quite disheveled.

“Um, yeah?” he said, pushing his hair back out of his eyes.

“I see I got you at a bad time.”

“No, no, fine, fine, doing…um…paperwork.”

Rangiku shook her head. “I’m borrowing Illfordt, Ichigo, Szayel and Findorr for my show. If they like it, I’ll keep them for this run, if not; it will just be for tonight.”

Shinji swallowed. “Okay, sounds good if they want to do it,” he said and slammed the door. There was giggling on the other side, definitely female this time. She thought it might have sounded like Isane… She smiled to herself. Of course he’d like them tall; he liked his male partners tall when he took them.

She headed back out the stage where there was a lot of talking and prepping. She waved and clapped to get everyone’s attention and proceeded to work through the show for the night. There would be a one hour break after the drag show and then they would go on, giving them plenty of time to prepare. When the “extras” weren’t in character, they’d be playing background characters with masks, like the ringwraiths and such, or Bilbo or whoever they needed.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Grimmjow sat in Nel’s kitchen and looked at her.

“So, you want to bring him _here?_ ” she asked. “Won’t that put us at risk?”

Grimmjow shook his head. “No, it won’t. They don’t touch anyone except their mark. Too much of a chance to get caught if they aren’t careful. But the INTERPOL guys seemed to think here would be safer than the dorms or his dad’s place. You’ve got cameras, and it is gated, so he chances of them getting in and out unnoticed are less.”

She nodded. “Well, Wonderweiss seems to like him. Are you going to tell him everything?”

Grimmjow nodded. “Yeah, tonight. I’m going to go over and tell his dad what’s going on first, then I’m going to get him after the show tonight and see if he’ll come here.”

“What if he refuses?” she asked, frowning.

“I think after a few days of them playing their games, he might change his mind,” he said, standing. “But I’m heading to meet with Doctor Kurosaki now. Maybe he can influence his stubborn arse of a son if I can’t. I’ll see you way late tonight. Tell the guys to come down to Las Noches when they crawl out of bed. We’re gonna need saturation. And the newbie, that Shiro, make sure he comes with them.”

Nel nodded. “Okay, well, be careful, I don’t want to see anything happen to you. You are my only brother.”

Grimmjow smiled and shook his head. “I’m good, sis.”

He headed out and got into his SUV and drove over to the Kurosaki clinic. He got out and went in and saw the Isshin was busy with a patient in one of the curtained areas so he sat in the waiting area and read through a few old magazines while he waited. He cringed as he looked on the dates. Didn’t the man order any more magazines? Some of these were more than a year old. After about an hour, he led his patient, an old woman, through to the door.

“Now, you make sure to take your antibiotics, okay? That infection should clear up in no time if you do,” he said.

The old woman thanked him and left and he turned and came in.

“Hey, you’re…Grimmjow, right?” he said.

“Yeah, and I need to talk to you about Ichigo, if you don’t mind,” he said standing, holding his briefcase. For some reason, the gregarious and smirking man changed when he had that briefcase in hand to someone serious and humorless. It was, of course, the contents of that very briefcase that made him turn so very serious.

“Sounds serious,” Isshin said with a frown.

Grimmjow nodded. “Yeah. Got somewhere we won’t be disturbed?”

He nodded and went and turned the sign over for emergency to call his cell and led Grimmjow back through to the main house to the kitchen. He grabbed a couple sodas and sat down with him at the table.

“Now, what’s this all about?” he asked, face losing the levity that the dark haired man usually held.

Grimmjow took a breath. “I haven’t talked to Ichigo yet, and I ask that you let me talk to him this evening at the club before you say anything to him. I hope that you can help me sway him to allow himself to be put in protective custody if I am unsuccessful in getting him to agree to it.”

“Protective custody?” Isshin asked. “Like by the police or what?”

“Ichigo has been targeted by a pair of serial killers that I’ve been trailing across Europe and Asia over the last five years. I’m not on vacation like I told Ichigo. I’m actually in pursuit of them. I’m a professional bounty hunter. I wasn’t sure at first, but I believe they are the ones that sent the dress to him, and they are currently placing hang up calls to his phone and sending text messages from random numbers,” he said handing the older man the folder.

Isshin didn’t speak. He simply went through the folders that Grimmjow offered him and shuffled through the various crime scene photos and photos from the “albums” that were left for the friends and family of the victims. Grimmjow was impressed. He had no reaction even to the most gruesome of the images, but then, he supposed the man was a doctor. No doubt, in his time as a doctor he had stitched together some gruesome wounds and had dealt with deaths. Almost an hour passed in silence until he finally he put everything back into the folders.

“From what I see, protective custody didn’t help other victims,” he said, looking across at him with a grim look on his face.

Grimmjow shook his head. “No, but that was with local law enforcement and INTERPOL. I have a vested interest, their first victim, it was my high school boyfriend, first love and all that,” he said with a nod. “I don’t care about the bounty, to be perfectly honest. In fact, I’ve probably spent the amount their bounty would bring several times over just chasing them. I need them caught before they do something to Ichigo. I couldn’t save Hanataro, and I haven’t been able to save anyone else along the way, but Ichigo is the first victim I’ve gotten to this early. Everyone else I made contact barely days before they were kidnapped, and at that point, it was impossible to track them.”

Isshin nodded. “I’ll do my best, but my son is stubborn. Now, I need to make a couple calls. Thank you for the information.”

Grimmjow nodded and left. The telling to the victims’ families, whether before or after was always hard. It was a lot of information to take in. He got back in the car and headed to Las Noches. He had a feeling it would be a long night. By the time he got there, he saw Shawlong, Di Roy, Shiro and Edrad waiting outside in the alley together. He parked and headed in and knocked. Kenpachi opened the door and eyed the other three. Grimmjow cleared his throat.

“Kenpachi, we need to talk. It’s about Ichigo and what happened to him with that dress. It was more than just a prank.”

Kenpachi nodded and led them in to the back. A few minutes later, the entire security team was summoned to a meeting with the bounty hunters as well as Shinji. Shinji looked a little disheveled though for some reason.

Grimmjow sighed and looked around. He saw Hiyori staring at him suspiciously especially when they mentioned the dress and the whole thing being more than a prank. He saw Lisa and Nnoitra leaning against the wall, Lisa showing Nnoitra something in a yaoi manga she was reading. Ikkaku and Love were seated with their feet propped up on the table and Kensei and Apacci were both leaning against the door and watching them. The red-headed Renji was slunk down into a big chair in the far corner watching with interest.

“Everyone’s here, except Nemu, but she’s out on extended vacation with her bastard husband,” Kenpachi said, seating himself at the head of the table. Di Roy, Shawlong, and Shiro all moved to the back of the room.

“Okay, Hiyori, you had suspicons that the dress incident with Ichigo was more than a prank gone wrong. My name, if you don’t know me, is Grimmjow Jagerjaquez, and these men, Di Roy, Shawlong, and Shiro, are members of my team. I’m actually a professional bounty hunter, and these three along with Edrad are my team. I brought in all my team for help on this one,” he said, dropping a file on the table. “I am after Bambietta Busterbine and Quilge Opie. They are a pair of the most sadistic fucks I’ve ever seen. Starting over five years ago in Germany, they’ve been killing across Europe and Asia. This is their first time in Japan. Those files are their victims. They choose a victim, usually young, attractive gay males, and they have a penchant for choosing those that dress in drag or cross dress in regular life. Each of their victims seems to ‘stand out’ in some fashion. Ichigo, of course, fits their victim profile perfectly.”

Kensei handed the folder to Nnoitra. “What do you mean by stand out?”

“As you’ll notice by the case files, each victim has some distinguishing feature. Several of them had mismatched eyes, a couple victims had had partial sex changes, one of them had naturally while hair, another couple were unusually tall, while another few were unusually short, three had extensive tattoos, and one of them was an albino,” he said, flipping through some papers before putting them down. “All the victims were targeted in public places, strip clubs, drag clubs, and dance clubs being a preference for them. We are also relatively certain that Quilge is himself gay which makes him fit in to the scene well when he is hunting. In tandem along with the kidnappings and mutilations of the victims, there are often several rapes reported in the area where the perpetrator matches Quilge’s basic description. There are also rashes of fires in the areas, which may be Bambietta’s pass-time.”

There was quiet as some of the things were passed around. “So what is it they do exactly?” Hiyori said, and Grimmjow handed her an “album”. “They’ve been named the Album Killers because of these,” he said, handing another album to Kenpachi. “They photograph and video the torture and mutilation of their victims and then after the body has been dumped and discovered, they leave this for the family. Another hallmark, all of the victims have close friends and family that are distraught at their loss.”

“How does Ichigo’s attack fit into this?” Lisa said, passing files to Nnoitra. Grimmjow noted that she had put away her manga. He’d never once seen her do that no matter what was happening around her.

“They try and ‘break’ their victims first. They try and weaken their resolve, try to convince them they’re going insane even, before they kidnap them. We don’t know all the details, but recent statemetns have come about by someone that survived. They apparently told him that breaking the person’s spirit was what they wanted. The survivor survived because he wouldn’t break,” he said with a sigh. He’d promised Zangetsu not to reveal the identity of the survivor unless he wanted his identity known.

Hiyori looked up with narrowed eyes. “But these two were never here, no where on the cameras.”

“And that is why we can’t catch them. They have unlimited funds, it seems. From what we can tell, between their victims, they do favors for crime syndicates and in doing so they gain favors, and they call them in to use on their victims. The only act that I know they actively engage in personally is the torture and mutilation and subsequent murder of the victims. Most of the things they do are done through others. We’re talking some insidious shit, and some stuff that seems insignificant. Minor break ins, switching the victims belongings, swiping seemingly unimportant things, random people talking to them in public, and all these little things add up in the victim’s mind and start to make them wonder if they’re sane. I’ve seen it happen first hand and it isn’t pretty.”

Ikkaku had paled as he spoke. “Why Ichigo?”

Grimmjow shook his head. “Wrong place, wrong time, as near as we can tell. Since the dress was used after the incident in the shop, we can assume that he was spotted that day. Shortly after that, a mutilated body was discovered in a trash dumpster no more than two blocks from that very store that the dress came from. They murder in threes, and then they seem to break for three months. This is their third victim in this cycle. If we can’t get them, they’ll disappear off the grid for three months, and will reappear around fifty miles from Karakura, but we won’t know in what direction.”

Shinji, who was sitting silently beside Kenpachi shook his head. “Fuck,” he muttered.

When they were done, Shinji and Grimmjow headed up to Shinji’s office and called for Ichigo to come up. It was time to confront their victim, and they had a feeling he was not going to like what they had to say.

Ichigo had no idea why Shinji needed to see him right that moment. Show time was less than half an hour away, and him and Illfordt were on first. So he knocked and entered to find Shinji at his desk and Grimmjow sitting on the couch already. Ichigo frowned and sat down beside the blue haired man.

“So, what’s up? Almost show time,” Ichigo said. “And I got a busy night, I’m sure Rangiku let you know that.”

“Look, I know, but this is important. Grimmjow and his team already spoke with Kenpachi and security, and I thought we should talk in private with you,” Shinji said with a sigh. He hadn’t even changed into drag for the night yet, so that meant something serious.

“What team?” he said, looking at the man beside him. “You said you were here on vacation, to see your sister.”

Grimmjow nodded. “That was partially true, but the part I failed to mention is that I’m a bounty hunter, and I’m chasing a pair of serial killers. They’re here, in Karakura, and they’ve chosen you as their next victim.”

Ichigo blinked and snorted. “This is some kind of joke?”

Grimmjow shook his head, and handed him a file. “I wish it was.”

Ichigo looked through the documents. “But…how do you know they’ve chosen me?”

“The dress, and now the hang up phone calls, the text messages…” Grimmjow said.

“How do you know about the text messages?” he said.

Grimmjow ran a hand through his hair. “INTERPOL is involved; they’ve killed over many countries. When I brought up the possibility that you were the next victim, they pulled your phone records. It matches their MO.”

Ichigo stared at the files thoughtfully. He wasn’t really angry, just frustrated. He’d just gotten control of his life the way he wanted it, and on his terms, and someone was trying to take that control away from him. “Why didn’t you tell me to start with?”

“I wasn’t sure. I had men on all the popular hangouts of young men that match their victims. I was here, and you stuck out as their victim type. They choose victims that are young men and they have some distinguishing feature. Your hair struck me as a possibility. The first victim was my Hanataro. He was a tiny petite thing, but he was their first. After that, they escalated. Hana was chosen because he was easy, I think, and the rest all had various reasons.” Grimmjow was silent until Ichigo handed the files back.

“Well, I can’t do much about it at right this second, can I?” he said, standing. “Got a show to do, and I’m on the Burlesque show tonight too.”

“Wait,” Grimmjow said, standing. “I’d like you to come stay at my sister’s place. It’s safer, gated and she has cameras…”

Ichigo glared at him. “No way, I’m not going to change my life just because of a couple dirt-bags that think they can mess with me. I’m not stopping working here, I’m not stopping going to school, and I’m not changing where I live. If I do that, they’ve won, now haven’t they?”

With that he turned and left, heading out to do his show. Grimmjow glanced at Shinji who shook his head. He was indeed a stubborn kid.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Isshin made up his mind. He was going to the club tonight to see if he could talk to Ichigo. No doubt it would take some convincing to get him to accept help, but he was his father, and he had to give it a try. He dressed simply, jeans and a button down shirt. He told the girls he was heading to the club to talk to Ichigo and they waved him off. Nearly fifteen, they honestly took care of themselves these days. He headed out and thought along the way about his son and what was happening to him. Serial killers, of all the things to have target his son… He shook the thoughts away and found a J-pop station on the radio to distract himself on the way to the club.

He parked and saw one of the security guards at the front directing people in as others left. He went up to him, a tall bald headed man he recognized from the last time he’d been here. He waved as he approached.

“Dr. Kurosaki!” Ikkaku said with a smile. “Ichi is on right now, come on, get in there,” he said, waving him through to the groaning annoyance of some of the people in line that didn’t know the rule about family of the performers getting priority.

Isshin thanked him and headed toward the stage where his son was performing a skit or something and he sat down on the outside edge to watch. He wandered to the bar after a few moments and got a beer. It was the tall brunette bartender that served him.

“Oh, you’re Ichi’s padre, aren’t you?” Starrk said as he handed the beer.

He looked up, not knowing this particular man and nodded. “Yeah, I am.”

“Just here to watch?” he said, cleaning the bar with the towel.

“I needed to talk to him. The drag show’s nearly done, right?” Isshin said with a nod.

Starrk nodded. “Si, pero Ichi is going on the Burlesque show tonight as an extra.”

Isshin sputtered around his beer. He swallowed finally. “Oh he is?”

The brunette smiled. “Si, so, you should be in for a treat!”

Isshin wasn’t so sure about watching his son do burlesque. Drag was one thing…but burlesque? He’d seen a couple shows in his time, and he did understand the difference between strippers and burlesque dancers. But either way, they did remove their clothes. He sighed and took his beer and went and sat down at the table and watched the rest of the regular drag show. Within a few moments a very tall man sat down beside him. Isshin looked over and saw he had stringy black hair and a bandana over his left eye. He was sipping a bottled coke. He was about to dismiss him, but saw the Las Noches logo on the black t-shirt and guessed he was security.

“Ichigo’s dad, ya?” he said, not taking eyes off the stage performance.

“Yeah, and you are?” Isshin said, arching a brow. Being known by everyone was starting to get on his nerves a bit.

“Name’s Nnoitra, but call me Nnoi if ya want. Ikakku said you’d come in so I thought I’d intro myself. Grimm-chan gave us the low down on the fuckers who’re tryin’ ta mess wit him. That ain’t cool. ‘Specially on mah terf,” he said, sipping the soda with a long drink. “Fucked up, ya know. Ichigo, he’s a pretty good kid.”

Isshin nodded.   “Yeah, some messed up stuff, huh?”

“Don’t worry none, old man. We got him. He’s one of us now, ya know. And we’re a family around here. And that kid o’yers, he’s sumthin. Don’t think he’ll break the way they are wantin’, ya know. Strong one.”

Isshin smiled silent thanks to the freakishly tall man as he moved to the next table and sat down and proceeded to hit on a young woman who was obsessively peeling her beer bottles. Isshin shook his head and then started to realize that there was a young woman sitting where Nnoitra had been moments before. He blinked at her. Just when had she sat down?

“Yo,” she said, her head buried in a manga called _Bondage Boys Love Triangle 3_. The cover had a character spanking another one. “Name’s Lisa. Thought I’d say hi. Work here too with that pervert over there. He’s trying to get into that girl’s pants.”

Isshin nodded. “Does he do that often?”

“Only when he finds the ones that are sexually frustrated. He can give them what they need. He’s a master at the one night stand. But then, guess I am too. I’ll catch ya later. There’s a chick over there I’m gonna try and take home before Nnoi tempts her into a threesome with the one there he’s working.”

She stood and walked away, never taking her eyes off the book she was reading. True to her word she went to another table with a single woman and sat down and proceeded to say something that had the other woman blushing. He shook his head. Shinji came out on stage.

“Thanks, Las Noches! Please, enjoy Kirakaze’s music! I’ve entreated them to become our house band from here on out, so they’ll be here most nights from now on to entertain you between the shows. Up next, we have the first performance of the Hainekos new show, Lord of the Rings: A Burlesque Parody. Now, you cheap ass mother fuckers, go buy some goddamned drinks!”

There was thunderous applause and he disappeared behind the curtains. Isshin shook his head. He guessed if Ichigo was going on stage again, he wouldn’t come out like he usually did. He was about to get up and get another beer when one was sat down in front of him. He looked up to see Grimmjow.

“Thanks. By the grim look, he refused your offer,” Isshin said, taking the cap off his beer.

“Yeah, ya know yer kid pretty well,” Grimmjow said, sipping on a beer of his own. “But I got my whole crew here tonight. But they won’t move on him yet. The games are just beginning and they thrive on it. First they’ll mess with him enough to make him think he’s going crazy. After a while, he might decide my offer is good,” he said the last with a sigh. “I just hope he does before it’s too late to help.”

The pair sat in silence for a while, and the lights went down again. Rangiku came out, playing her Gandalf part, and Isshin gaped.

“Damn, has she got a rack,” he said, the three beers he’d had giving him a pleasant buzz.

“Yeah, she’s a nice one, too,” Grimmjow said.

They watched the show in silence, seeing that Gandalf really preferred wearing a grey mini-skirt and star shaped silver pasties under that grey robe of hers. The dialogue was funny, and close enough to the movies that had come out in 2001 that it felt right. Grimmjow leaned over as the group was going to meet the elves. When they met the elves they were wearing flowing gowns but they were soon stripped down to lingerie fast enough.

“Here’s Ichigo’s part,” Grimmjow whispered.

Ichigo was wearing a long white gown and made up a lot to look like Galadriel. Someone else was playing the escort. He came down and did a small dance number around the group, stripping off silvery white layers as he went until he was down to a garter belt and white lace underwear, and a lacy bustier. He ended by kissing Gimli’s actress on the hand, and as he turned away, stripped the bustier and dropped it in Gimli’s hands. The stage went dark afterward for intermission between the two halves.

“Wow,” Isshin said. “I think he’s picked the right pass-time, since he’s good at it,” Isshin said and turned to see Grimmjow was still transfixed on the stage. He hadn’t been that interested in the show until…oh, Isshin thought, smiling to himself. He sighed and Grimmjow got them another round and then the story resumed, ending with the separation of the Fellowship, like the first movie. The show was broken into three, each day a different part was to be shown. Tomorrow, the second movie’s show would be done.

Kirikaze struck up again and Isshin looked up to see Ichigo come running down from the stage. He grinned, dressed now in jeans and a t-shirt for his trip back to the dorms. “Hey Pop!” he said, coming up and hugging him. “What are you doing here?”

“Trying to talk sense into my stubborn son,” he said with a smile. “I really think you should listen to Grimmjow,” he told him, gesturing at the blue haired man.

Ichigo’s eyes narrowed and he shook his head. “Pop, really, they’re not going to beat me so easily. I’m fine. Now, I gotta get back to the dorms.”

“At least let me drive you,” Grimmjow said, holding his hand up.

The orangette opened his mouth to argue then shut it. “Fine, if it will keep you all off my back,” he said, and Grimmjow counted it a small victory as he led him to his car in the back.

Isshin sat back down and looked morosely at his empty beer bottle.

“Sugar, you look down,” came a female voice. He looked up to see the woman that was Gandalf during the show. She had long reddish brown hair like Masaki had when she was alive. He smiled gently at her.

“Ah, Ichigo, my boy,” he said with a sigh. “Stubborn as an ox.”

“Name’s Rangiku Matsumoto,” she said, holding out a hand. He looked up. She was dressed in a low cut white blouse and a black mini skirt now. He smiled and shook her hand.

“Kurosaki Isshin,” he responded.

She sat down across from him. “So what’s the deal with your son?”

“Won’t listen. That Grimmjow wants to help him be safe, but he won’t have it. Wants to prove himself, I think, to me and then everyone else,” Isshin said.

Rangiku nodded. “This sounds like a sake problem.” She turned toward the bar. “Mashiro! Two bottles of sake!”

Mashiro grinned. “Inviting anyone else?” she asked as she sat the two bottles and four cups down.

“Yeah, Tier should be over soon, she’s been having girlfriend troubles. And my new friend Isshin is having son issues. And me, I’m having lack of sake issues!” Rangiku said, sipping her cup.

Mashiro shook her head as Tier came from the back, changed into the jeans and a tank top. She sat down beside Rangiku and dropped her black purse onto the floor beside her. She looked at Isshin and over to Rangiku.

“Tier Harribel, this is Ichigo’s dad, Isshin. Thought you wouldn’t mind a round or two with him since Ichigo’s stubborn and making his dad worry,” Rangiku said with a smile.

Tier sighed and shook her head, tipping back the cup of sake herself. “Hmm, good. Haven’t drank in a while, not since I broke up with Candy.”

Isshin nodded. “I haven’t drank sake…since my wife died.”

“Ichigo’s mom?” Rangiku asked, filling her own cup and Isshin’s again.

“Yeah, Masaki was her name. Sweetest, most wonderful person I ever met. Got disowned by my own family for…” he didn’t finish the statement because someone he hadn’t recognized when they were on stage was staring at him.

“Isshin?” the dark haired woman said, coming over toward them.

“Kūkaku?” he asked, recognizing his cousin.

Rangiku smiled. “You know Kūkaku?”

Kūkaku smiled. “Cousins, well, we used to see each other before he pissed off the rest of the family. How are you Isshin? I heard Ichigo’s name, but I thought it had to be some other Kurosaki…”

Kūkaku sat down and took the last cup and Rangiku poured her a drink. “Doing alright, I suppose. Got Ichigo, and twin girls.”

“And Masaki?” she asked, sipping her drink.

Isshin sighed. “She was killed when Ichigo was nine, actually, been just me and the kids since then.”

“Sorry to hear that,” Kūkaku said with a nod. “She was a nice girl, even if the family hated her. I liked her. Obviously, since I work here, I don’t have much contact with them anymore either. My brother Kaien is over there, he’s on drums in the band,” she said, gesturing to where the band was playing on the band stage. “The younger one, Ganju, he’s off doing who knows what in the Americas.”

Isshin nodded. “Good to see I wasn’t the only apple to fall away,” he said.

“What happened to Masaki?” she asked, pouring herself a second cup. Tier and Rangiku both listened as they talked.

“Mugging gone bad. Her and Ichigo were coming back from karate, and this guy came out wanting money. She didn’t have any, so he shot her and tried to shoot Ichigo, but he managed to dive into the river and he ran off. Never caught the guy,” he said with a sigh.

Kūkaku nodded. “Hey, I’ve gotta go, but I promise I’ll look you up. You here?”

Isshin smiled. “Come find me at Kurosaki Clinic, I run it next to our house.”

Kūkaku nodded and headed out the door, tightening the obi on her yukata as she went. Isshin watched her go and poured another sake for himself.

“That’s tough, man,” Tier said. “And I thought I had romance problems.”

Isshin smiled, the sake starting to make him warm all over. “Yeah, but I keep it simple. I focus on my kids, and I don’t date much since she died. What about you two?”

Tier grinned. “I’m on a dating break as of today. But I’m not talking about her, I guess I’m curious. I know your son in passing, and I understand he only came out to you this summer. Didn’t you think something was different already? I mean, my parents knew before I told them.”

Isshin snorted. “I should have, but I never really thought about it. It was my son, that was all, and then he told me, and I was like, okay, different, but okay. I think my one daughter might be end up not being so straight either. She hates girl’s clothes, and she plays with boys more than girls. But I don’t want to mention it to her until she mentions it to me.”

Tier sipped her drink. “You would be okay with having two gay kids?”

Isshin nodded. “Doesn’t matter to me, as long as they’re happy in the end.”

Rangiku grinned. “That’s so sweet! I’m so glad to hear that, we get parents in here now and then who are less than pleased to find out their kids are here and doing this stuff, whether they’re gay or not.”

He sipped his drink. “What about you? How’d you get into this dancing burlesque thing anyway?”

Rangiku smiled. “Well, I was always good at dancing, and as I got older, these boobs kept getting bigger, and well, you don’t find a lot of dancers with huge breasts. First I was going to school to be a dance instructor, but it was such a hassle to do a lot of the moves required with a chest like this. I ended up catching a burlesque show, and realized I could still dance, just not in the same way. So I went to business school so I could run a dance group, and by the end, I just wasn’t happy doing business only. My parents were gone, died in an auto accident when I was at university, and I decided to do what I wanted. So I started up the Hainekos. I suppose it is kinda a childhood dream, to dance. Well, anyway, I hired Ulquiorra, the manager I have now, to deal with the business so I could focus on the dancing.”

Rangiku knocked back two cups in a row and sighed, swaying a bit in her seat. “Anyway, that’s how I met Tier, I was doing auditions near the coast a few years ago, and this blonde bombshell with a surfboard came in. She was a hit immediately.”

Tier grinned and knocked back her cup. “Yeah, well, doing this was the only thing to get me to leave my job.”

“What were ya doin’?” Isshin said, eyes starting to get a bit droopy.

“I was a surfing instructor; I still surf when I can, guess it’s my only real hobby. Grew up on the sea, to be honest, my parents were surfers and did a lot of scuba diving. I think I was swimming in the ocean before I could walk. We lived in Hawaii actually. I’ve only been in Japan about four years now, and three of those have been with Rangiku and the Hainekos,” Tier said, slowly draining another cup and pouring another.

Isshin nodded. “What in tha world made you give up being a surfin’ instructor?”

She smiled. “Well, the girl in charge was pretty hot, and I was a lonely lezzy.”

Rangiku giggled. Tier shook her head. “Nah, wasn’t like that. Rangi is pretty hot, but she don’t swing that way. Nah, I’d caught a show before I moved to Japan back home in Hawaii, and I thought it was awesome because it wasn’t like being a stripper, it was classy. But there was this gal named Candy…and we hit it off.”

“Oh god, Candy. You and her were like oil and water. She left the show because your breakup was so bad!” Rangiku said with a grin.

Isshin sighed. “Man, you all have such colorful lives here. I feel boring.”

“Don’t say that, you’ve got a diva for a son, there’s nothin’ boring about that!” Rangiku said and started giggling. “Mashiro, more sake!” she called.

Mashiro sat another bottle down and took the empties. “You guys need a driver?” she asked, seeing none of them were in any condition to drive.

“Yeah,” Isshin said. “I’mma doc here and I pre-pre-prescribe that we need a driver.” With that he passed out into his sake cup. Tier and Rangiku giggled, Ragiku even more because her boobs fell out when she fell off the chair. Lucky for her, she’d left her pasties on.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

“I’ll walk you up,” Grimmjow said as he parked the car.

“You don’t have to,” Ichigo said, sighing. He was really not liking the fact that this _thing_ was interfering with his life already. Granted, he didn’t really like his dorm, but he wasn’t about to admit to anyone else that fact.

“I insist. This way I can see which dorm is your dorm so if something happens I can come find you,” he said with a nod.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. “Whatever, come on.”

They headed up to the third floor and Ichigo unlocked the door. Kenneth was awake, surprisingly, as it was after one am. Ichigo frowned and looked around. “What’s going on, Kenneth?”

Kenneth didn’t look happy. He gestured to Ichigo’s side of the room. Ichigo gaped at the mess. “What…what happened?” he gasped.

Grimmjow pushed him back. “Ichigo, stay back, let me check it out,” he said.

Every single thing Ichigo owned had been turned out on the floor or on his bed. His books had all been torn apart, pages scattered all around the room, under both beds and desks. Every article of clothing that had been left in the small closet had been cut up and left piled in the floor of the closet. The sheets had been sliced though. On the wall beside the bed, someone had drawn in red paint a message. Grimmjow leaned over and felt that the paint was still tacky. It had happened in the last few hours.

“What is it, Grimmy?” Ichigo asked in a shaky voice from the doorway.

“Left a message. Says ‘I got you’,” he said, standing up and sighing. He looked to the obviously annoyed boy. “What time did you come in?”

“What do I look like?” he asked, rolling his eyes.

Grimmjow growled and pulled out his cell phone. “Barragan, Jagerjaquez here. Kurosaki’s dorm has been tossed and you need to get forensics over here. Yeah, no problem. Got a safe house. Yeah, I think so. I’ll get Shiro to help me. No, he’s got a roommate. I’ll make sure he stays here until the detectives get here. Yup.”

He put his phone up. “Ichigo, you’re going to Nel’s tonight.”

“But…” he started.

“No, I’m keeping you under watch. Who knows what else they could do if they can get in here?” he said, about having enough with the young man’s stubbornness. He was going to take him back to Nel’s if he had to drag him there.

“Grimmy, but it might not be them! It could be anyone!” he protested.

“Yeah, there’s a lot of people who don’t like fags around here,” Kenneth said from inside the room.

Grimmjow’s jaw flexed. “What’d you say?”

Kenneth stared at him, unperturbed it seemed by Grimmjow’s sheer size. “I said, there’s a lot of people who don’t like fags around here, or are you deaf as well as being a fruit too?”

Ichigo grimaced. He’d expected it, Kenneth, while usually not vocal, had more than once expressed his displeasure in other ways. Grimmjow however sighed and shook his head. “You don’t need to stay in the same room with a bastard, anyway, Ichigo.” Grimmjow leaned in. “And if you want to survive your encounter with Detective Barragan, I suggest you keep your opinions on homosexuality to yourself.”

Just then, Barragan came their direction with the two investigators on Ichigo’s case, Rukia Kuchiki and Sentarō Kotsubaki. They nodded in acknowledgement. Grimmjow had met both of them in passing, of course, and he knew that the name Kuchiki was related to one of the business investors that owned shares in Las Noches, and if he remembered right, the red headed security officer was dating her.

Grimmjow smiled. “Kenneth didn’t want to answer my questions since he says that lots of people around here don’t like fags.”

Rukia’s eye twitched. Grimmjow bid them farewell as all three went into the room with Ichigo’s dorm mate. Grimmjow led Ichigo back down and into the car. He looked over and laughed at him.

“What?” Ichigo said with a scowl marring his brows.

“Stop yer pouting, just because you didn’t get yer way, what are you, two?” he said, starting the car and heading to Nel’s place.

Ichigo merely snorted and muttered under his breath as they watched the dark of early morning pass by the outside of the car.


	7. Like Water off a Duck's Back

                Nel was not happy when there was a pounding on her doorway at nearly two am after her cell had rang three times in a row and woke her from a dead sleep. It had been Grimmjow she had seen when she looked at the missed calls. No messages left so there wasn’t some kind of emergency. Grimmjow surely hadn’t forgotten his damn key again. If he had, she was going to berate him and smack him within an inch of his very life. She had thought that living with her older brother was a pain in the ass when she was younger. Turned out, living with him as an adult was ten times worse than it ever had been as a child.

                “Nel?” came a quiet voice down the hall.

                “Shh, honey,” she said. “Probably your dumb uncle forgot his keys again, go on back to bed,” she said softly.

                Wonderweiss blinked his violet eyes and shook his head. He had the brightly colored Mothra he kept with him at night clutched to his chest. Even at almost fifteen years old, he found comfort in the plush creature. “No, it isn’t his steps alone I heard coming up to the door. Someone’s with him tonight.”

                Nel shook her head. “I forget how good your ears are sometimes,” she said as she headed down the stairs followed by a sleepy Wonderweiss. Curiosity had a way of keeping someone awake even in the wee hours of the morning. Nel was always amazed by his hypersensitivity. It certainly caused no end of difficulties some days, but sometimes it was an incredibly useful “symptom” to suffer with. Overall, even with the subtle benefits it brought, she would give anything for him to not have it. Some things just seemed to put him in pain from how loud they were or how bright lights were in buildings.

                She opened the door to see a tired and obviously frustrated Grimmjow with a dejected and grumpy looking Ichigo. Grimmjow had a tight grip on the younger man’s bicep, she could tell by the pressure he had on his arm. Ichigo was scowling mightily, staring at the ground and kicking away pebbles every now and then. Nel bit her lip to avoid laughing out loud at the sight. It was truly like a big brother dragging home a chastised child. If it wasn’t such a very serious situation, she might have indeed busted out laughing. Of course, being the wee hours of the morning didn’t help her mirth either.

                “Nel, remember that room request?” Grimmjow said with a sigh. “Seems we’re in need of it, tonight.”

                Nel frowned and stepped back as Grimmjow waited a moment, staring at the petulant looking boy beside him. Ichigo didn’t move; he simply stared at the ground in front of him, brows knitted in scowl still. Grimmjow grumbled and yanked on his arm, pulling him into the house with him. Ichigo shuffled his feet and dug in his heels just to make the process more difficult, but Grimmjow had him beat by quite a bit in brute strength. He could have gotten away from him if he wanted; he was perfectly capable of something that simple. The truth was that he was more than aware that this was the right choice. He wasn’t, however, going to give Grimmjow the satisfaction of admitting that he had been right all along. Looking back, he really should have just agreed to this to start with.

                “If you do not stay here willingly, I will handcuff you to the bed,” Grimmjow said, pushing him slightly and letting go as he stumbled across the landing. Ichigo reached up and rubbed his arm where he’d gripped him. He hadn’t held him hard enough to bruise or anything, but he really didn’t like the idea of being manhandled, even if it was done for his own good in the end. He gave Grimmjow a glare that would have wilted sakura blossoms.

                Ichigo turned and glared at him. “Didn’t know you were so kinky,” he said, rolling his eyes and walking into the living room and flopping into the sofa. Wonderweiss followed him.

                Nell arched her green brows at her brother. “What happened? You said he refused.”

                Grimmjow nodded. “Someone tossed his dorm. I suspect whoever it was might have been let in by his roommate or maybe even the roommate himself did it. None of the roommate’s stuff was touched, so it is a possibility. He’s safer here, that’s all there is to it. Shiro is going to stay down in the living room on the couch but he’s with the cops by now at Ichigo’s dorm.”

                Nel nodded. “Well, I already made up the guest room with the other futon. You sure he’s going to be okay in the same room as you?”  
                Grimmjow shook his head. “Doesn’t matter, he’s not sleeping with even a door between him and someone else. I know, I know, in the end, it hasn’t mattered how close the victims were to the cops or family or friends, but I’ll worry less.”

                Nel nodded. “Alright, but try and keep it down. That room is next to Wonderweiss, and he’s a very light sleeper.”

                Just then Grimmjow’s phone rang and he looked. “Gotta take it, Shiro.”

                “Yo,” Grimmjow said, answering the phone and watching as Nel walked into the living room to sit near Ichigo.

                “Hey bluebell,” came Shiro’s answer. “So this little fucker is annoying as shit,” Shiro said with a huff.

                “He’s sitting right next to you, isn’t he?” Grimmjow said with a half smirk lighting his face.

                “Course he fuckin’ is. Little fuckin’ shit talking shit all night on our diva boy. But he’s a little less mouthy at the moment,” Shiro said, and Grimmjow wasn’t sure he wanted to know exactly what that meant.

                “Get anything useful?” Grimmjow asked, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

                There was a giggle on the other end. “Oh, sorry, he’s tryin’ to mouth off at me again, kinda funny. Anyway, where did they drag up this lil’ shit? I mean, seriously, man, I thought these kind went out of style years ago, man. However, he did decide to talk once Tensa, Zan and I drug his homophobic ass down to our base and he realized we were INTERPOL. Anyway, that’s all funny and shit, but he got a text message offering him money to leave his dorm room open between nine and ten last night. Someone slipped five hundred under the door within ten minutes of the text and he left. When he came back, the room was tossed.”

                “Trace the text?” Grimmjow asked, hearing the TV in the background.

                “Same as always, bluebell, no luck. Unknown number, burner phone is what we got from it,” Shiro said with a sigh.

                “What’re ya gonna do with the prick?”

                Shiro snorted. “Ah, charge him with aiding and abetting and give him a hefty fine, I’m guessing. Yes, you little prick, you’re gonna be charged. Well, you took fuckin’ money to let someone vandalize your dorm mate’s stuff, people that are serial killers. So yes, you’ll goddamned well be charged. Jeze, blue baby, you think this guy is all there in the head?”

                “Whatever, Shiro, look, I still got an irate diva boy as you called him to deal with over here at my sister’s place. You got the couch when you get here, got it?”

                “Got it, Blue. Catch ya then, sweetheart!”

                Grimmjow slipped the phone back in his pocket and shook his head before heading into the living room.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

                Nel nodded and headed into the living room where Wonderweiss had turned on the TV and was watching old digimon reruns. Ichigo was curled into the corner of the sofa sulking pretty well by that point. If it had been a cartoon, she was pretty sure there would have been a big black thundercloud over his head shooting lightning at anyone who came near him. She shook her head. Sometimes grown men were more like children than any she had ever worked with in her whole career.

                “He’s right, you know,” she said finally.

                Ichigo turned his big brown eyes on her and sighed, the scowl on his brow easing slightly, as though the breath itself released the built up tension resting there. “Yeah, I know. I don’t have to like it.”

                Nel was quiet for a long moment. She couldn’t imagine what he was going through. She didn’t know a whole lot about him, but she did know he was desperately trying to find himself in a world that often had strong opinions on people that didn’t fit the generally held definition of “normal”. She glanced at Wonderweiss’s back and thought again how it was so similar for him. His entire life, he’d be different because of the luck of his birth. Ichigo was the same way. Autism made Wonderweiss different and deviate from the acceptable social norms. Ichigo’s choice of dress and homosexuality made him different and deviant as well. It was a well and true shame that people couldn’t simply be themselves and not be judged based on what other people considered the right way to live and the right way to be.

“Do you like Las Noches?” she asked finally, feeling the uncomfortable silence building around them.

                Ichigo smiled. “Yeah, a lot. I mean, I swear, I still don’t know everyone, but I love it so much. I…I’m just afraid that he’ll tell me I have to stop going. And I can’t, you know? I haven’t ever felt so much like myself in my life before. I just…I want to feel happy.”

                Nel nodded. “I don’t think he’s going to make you stop going to Las Noches, Itsygo.” Nel widened her eyes and put a hand to her mouth. “Oh sorry…”

                Ichigo smiled at her. “That was…cute…”

                She smiled shyly. “I had a speech problem when I was younger. Sometimes…there are words that don’t come out right, and it seems your name might be one of them.”

                “That’s okay, I don’t mind,” he said with a wider smile.

                “You want some tea?” she asked, trying to hide the blush that had spread across her cheeks. Even after all these years, she wasn’t entirely comfortable discussing her speech issues from her youth or the learning delays she’d suffered from.

                Ichigo nodded and sighed deeply. “Tea would be nice.”

                Nel went to the kitchen leaving Ichigo alone with Wonderweiss and the TV. Ichigo didn’t know where Grimmjow had gotten off to, but he was still annoyed at being made to come here. It wasn’t that he minded staying with them; he liked Nel and Wonderweiss quite a bit. It was having to change his life because of someone else. He was finally in control of himself, and free of everything he had been hiding, and here he was hiding because he had the bad luck to be targeted by a pair of serial killers. Couldn’t his life be normal just for a little while? He knew it was the best choice, he only hoped that he wasn’t putting Nel and Wonderweiss at risk by staying with them.

                “Things could be worse,” Wonderweiss said, his gaze never leaving the TV.

                “Oh?” Ichigo asked, watching the back of the blond’s head.

                “You could have no one to turn to like Uncle Grimmy when his boyfriend was attacked. No one listened. No one wanted to help. And then he was dead. And by the time they found him, the worms had got to him. I saw the pictures. I like worms, so I wanted to look.”

                Ichigo’s stomach turned and he was equal parts impressed by the boy’s knowledge and disturbed by the fact a dead body with worms in it didn’t bother him. “Yeah, I guess it is better to have someone help you.”

                “Uncle Grimmy likes you, you know,” he said, his gaze never moving, his plush mothra clutched to his chest as he spoke. “You remind him of Hana, and he couldn’t save him. He wants to save you and make sure that you don’t end up dead and have worms in your body.”

                “Um, yeah,” Ichigo said, more than a little grossed out by the thought. He really didn’t want to be dead and worm eaten, that was certain. “Why did they show you pictures of a body?”

                Nel came in then and handed him a teacup. “No one showed him, Wonderweiss went through Grimm’s briefcase to find the files when he found out some of the bodies had been left long enough to have bugs in some of them.”

                Ichigo sipped the tea and smiled. Green tea with chamomile. A good blend, he thought to himself. “What got you two on corpses and bugs?” Nel asked with a knowing grin.

                Ichigo shook his head morosely. The whole situation was just so damn depressing to think about. “Just came up. I guess I have a room to sleep in?”

                Nel nodded. “Yes, and you’ll share with Grimm.”            

                Ichigo frowned deeply. “Wait, what? No, I am not sleeping in the same room…”

                “Yes, you are,” Grimmjow said, dropping his hands onto Ichigo’s slimmer shoulders and squeezing them tightly. “You are not to be alone, at all, even in sleep.”

                “But…” he started to protest but Grimmjow tightened his grip. Ichigo was not sure what he thought of Grimmjow’s habit of defaulting to the use of force to get him to agree, however there was a tiny bit of him that found that forceful nature…alluring.

                “I have handcuffs still. Your choice,” he said. “I have no problems handcuffing you to the futon to make sure you stay put. I am trained on how to use them, you know.”

                Ichigo sipped his tea and glanced at the empty cup. “Whatever, just show me where to sleep, dammit,” he muttered, sitting the empty cup down and standing.

                “Come one, diva,” Grimmjow said, motioning to the stairs.

                Ichigo shook his head and went up, followed by Grimmjow. Nel shook her own head and finished her own tea slowly. She looked to the TV where Wonderweiss was still watching. “We should go back to bed.”

                “We should,” he responded but not moving for a long moment. “Ichigo is nice.”

                With that, the blond boy got up and headed up the stairs to his own room, leaving Nel to shake her head. Wonderweiss rarely said anyone was nice. His social interactions in recent years had improved, it was true, but he most often offered assessments based on his observations of people, which more often than not tended to put people off. Having a teenager look at you and reveal something in front of a group of people you don’t want revealed tended to set people off. In fact, if Wonderweiss spoke of anyone when they weren’t present, it was generally critical of them. Grimmjow was actually the only family member Wonderweiss tolerated. Other than that, he tended to be abrasive and annoyed with their stupidity. To have him actually comment that someone was nice…it was equivalent to another kid his age saying that the person was the best person they had ever met.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

                It was a simple day, and a simple thing. Nel took Wonderweiss to the park to see the ducks before the ducklings left entirely. There was a family of Mandarin ducks at the pond, and they had seven almost grown ducklings that Wonderweiss had kept watch on all spring and summer. Nel was always amazed at the studiousness of the boy when he was interested in things. Watching the ducks mate, nest and hatch had given him quite an interest in them, but then, he loved almost every animal he came across. From an early age, he had shown more compassion and understanding toward animals than he ever did toward his fellow human beings. Nel had seen it a million times. Animals and children with autism seemed to go hand in hand. More than once she’d thought about finding a trained therapy animal for him, but she’d never had the opportunity. The closest they’d gotten was the small container he kept his two hermit crabs in. Nel had seen how studious he cared for those, however, and knew beyond a doubt he would care easily for a larger animal.

                Of course, this trip was a matter of routine for him, so as soon as she parked, Wonderweiss was off heading toward the pond while she went to pick up drinks for them both. The pond was well within her vision, and Wonderweiss was very unlikely to depart from his established routine. If she didn’t go get the drinks, he would be upset, so it was best to continue with the normal routine, even if with Ichigo staying with them she was more than a little wary of strangers than she was before. She understood what Grimmjow said about them not targeting anyone except Ichigo, but who was to say they wouldn’t change things just because they were bored? Granted, it didn’t matter to her because she would have opened her home to anyone in need, especially a young one like Ichigo. Still, she kept an eye on her adopted son as he walked with purpose toward the pond.

                As Wonderweiss neared the pond he heard laughter and large splashes of water. The laugher sounded familiar and he felt his heart begin to speed up with anxiety. It was the older group of kids from the day they had ice cream. Their names escaped him, but then he never recalled information that was of no importance. He didn’t like this but he had to go on to the pond, that’s where he always went. As he approached, all traces of anxiety disappeared. Wonderweiss was not a typical boy, mostly because he was terribly socially awkward and didn’t really understand a lot about social interaction. To be honest, it just didn’t seem all that important. However, while he held loosely to social normalcies, and rarely exercised them, he did hold tightly to protecting the things he loved dearly. One of those things he loved so very dearly was animals, and at this moment, it was the family of Mandarin ducks he had watched and studied over the last four months. Back home, in his room, he had five solid journals of scientific data he’d gathered over the summer on the ducks, their habitat, and their habits.

The five teens were pitching rocks at them, trying to hit them and make them sink under the water. A flickering flame inside the quiet, stoic boy lit into a raging fire in that moment.

“Stop it!” he screamed at them, and all five looked at him with wide eyes because he had been quiet before even when they were teasing him. In fact, he hadn’t said much at all, and ignored them for the most part.

“Stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it!” he repeated, his anger building each time he said it. His eyes were wide, and frankly, crazy looking with the unbridled emotions that were coursing through him. He was not normally emotional. In fact, this release of emotion was so unusual that he honestly had no idea how to handle it. That didn’t matter at the moment. His focus was laser precise on one thing: those ducks.

                “Look here, it’s the little freak by himself, what you don’t like me messing with the stupid ducks?” Hinto said with a sneer, and tossed another rock, narrowly missing the smallest of the young ducklings.

                “No, you leave them alone. They don’t hurt you. They’ve been here all spring and summer, and this is their home. You stop it, stop it, stop it, now, now, now!” he said, frowning deeply at them. His fists were balled at his sides and he was shaking his head back and forth, his eyes never leaving Hinto’s face.

                “Aix galericulata, nests off the ground, nested in that tree hollow over there, hen laid nine eggs, seven hatched. Three hens, four drakes were born this spring. Drake is protective of his mate; this is the second year this pair has mated. This is their home, they’re a _family_ , so you leave their home and their family alone!” he yelled.

                Hinto looked back at the four others behind him, all of which had stepped back away from the younger boy. “You got balls for a freak, but what are you gonna do to stop me?”

                “I’ll stop you, you stop it! Stop, stop, stop!” he said, his whole being vibrating with the anger he was suffering. In times like this, his most frustrating symptom seemed to appear, that of the repetition. Normally it irritated him to no end, but considering the discomfort it was causing among the five older teens, he found echolalia not so bad at the moment.

                “You can stop that, yourself, we got it!” Kaida said, frowning at her boyfriend.

                “You stop it! Go away, leave their home and their family, go away!” he said, moving forward and making a shooing motion with his hands as though he were shooing some annoying flies away from something. In a way, that was how he saw Hinto and his friends.

                Hinto looked uncertain, then Kaida pulled on him again, and the five left, leaving Wonderweiss panting with the exertion. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Karin and Yuzu smiling at him.

                “Karin and Yuzu Kurosaki,” he acknowledged with a slight bow at them, anger and anxiety both melting away immediately.

                “Wow, I’m so impressed, Won, you stood up for yourself,” Karin said with a smile.

                The violet-eyed boy shook his head. “No, they were hurting the ducks. I could not let that happen. Was a bad thing for them to do.”

                Yuzu looked up to see Nel coming up with the drinks in hand. She ran over and told her what had happened while Karin listened as Wonderweiss regaled her with the story of the mandarin ducks and more information than she could ever have wanted to know about the species. The twins had been nearby and heard Wonderweiss when he first shouted. They had run over immediately but seeing him stand up against them surprised them so they watched and waited in case they were needed. Karin was proud of him. She thought it was amazing that he could find the strength to stand up for others. Now, she just had to work on helping him learn to stand up for himself…

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Isshin wasn’t sure what happened, or why it happened, but he was standing in line at Las Noches. He was about to turn around and go home because he remembered that it was Ichigo’s night off when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see the woman he’d talked to over sake, Rangiku. Isshin smiled at her.

“Hey doc, whatcha doin’ here again?” she asked, returning his smile in kind.

“Oh, I don’t know, really. I wanted to see Ichigo again, but he’s on a date with the bartender again, and I had forgotten until just now,” he said with a sigh, shoving his hands deeply into the jeans pockets. “I guess I’ll go back home then.”

Rangiku smiled at him wider. “Nah, you’re here already, come have a drink with me again!”

Isshin opened his mouth to say no, after all the headache he’d had after the last time had been enough to nearly split his skull, but he found himself being led through the door by the busty woman. He chose instead to smile as he sat down and she left to order sake again. Isshin shook his head. What was he doing? Getting drunk on sake with a woman that was, in all honesty, not much more than a stripper? He sighed, but reminded himself sternly she wasn’t a stripper. No, strippers worked for tips, these people put on a show, they didn’t show their bodies like strippers did.

He jumped as she slapped the bottle down. “Whatcha thinkin’ so hard about?” she asked, plopping in the seat beside him.

“Oh, this whole thing, I mean, a few months ago, if you told me I’d be here, now, I’d have laughed at you,” he said, tipping the sake into his cup. It gave off a nice steam.

Rangiku smiled and downed her first cup and filled it again. “Yeah, life does that, you know. Start out somewhere, and end up somewhere else.”

“You think he likes this guy? Ichigo, I mean, he’s out on a date with the bartender guy, their second, but the first time they’ve gone out alone,” he said, looking toward the bar where Mashiro was busy handing out drinks alone tonight. It was a slow night, without anything special going on.

“I don’t think so. I heard him and Uryuu talking and he said he didn’t think they were meant to be. He’s such a cutie. I guess he believes he’ll ‘know the one’ when he meets him. But they’ll be good friends, I’m sure of it. Coyote is a good man, one of the best I ever dated, that’s for sure,” she said, swirling the alcohol thoughtfully.

Isshin nodded. “You dated him?”

She smiled. “Yeah, he’s one of the few men around here that like me for me, and not for…well, this,” she said, pushing her breasts upward. “My biggest asset and my biggest deterrent for finding love.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean, I mean I do about having an asset that makes it hard to find love. I was young when I fell in love with Masaki, and it is so easy then to fall in love with a person. Since she died, I go on dates and I swear they only go out with me because I have ‘doctor’ in front of my name. They stop listening when they find out I run a clinic that does mostly low cost and free work, and don’t bring in six figures,” he said with a sigh. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought they were the one and went on several dates, only to have it fall apart soon because they ask about my income.”

Rangiku shook her head and held up her cup. “Here’s to finding someone that sees past the surface and into what’s inside,” she said.

Isshin nodded and clinked cups with her. By the time Isshin got home that night, it was well after four am, and he couldn’t remember a time he’d had more fun just talking with someone.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

“What are you doing here, Ichi?” Uryuu asked, fixing the hem on one of the newer boys’ dress. Ichigo had met him briefly, a guy named Ggio. Strangely enough, he gave Ichigo the creeps a little because he always looked like he was watching Ichigo and like he was about to say something he never said.

“I need your advice,” he said, rubbing a nervous hand through his already mussed orange hair.

Uryuu nodded and finished up the hem and nodded to Ggio who left, leaving a lingering look on Ichigo’s back. Ichigo flopped into the chair. He was dressed for his date with Coyote, his first real date, that is. They were going to a nice restaurant, one that you had to have reservations to get into even, and he was nervous. It was really his first real date ever. He’d decided to dress up a bit, though there wasn’t a dress code for the place. He was wearing a long floral kimono in soft cream and yellow with a pair of geta. He’d put his hair back with a pair of yellow flowered clips since it kept falling into his eyes these days while he was growing it out. He still didn’t wear the false bra when he went out on his own, even if he did wear long tunics and kimonos or yukatas in public now.

“Okay, what’s up?” Uryuu said, sitting beside him on the couch.

“Well, I’m going out with Coyote again, and we’re going to a nice place, but I don’t know. He’s nice and all, but there’s no…spark,” he said, sighing.

Uryuu nodded. “So?”

Ichigo frowned. “So I don’t think he’s the one, you know?”

“Ichi, he doesn’t have to be ‘the one’ to have some fun, you know? Go out, eat, have a nice night, maybe go back to his place, have a drink, and then have casual sex, and then go home in the morning. It isn’t that hard,” Uryuu said, rolling his eyes.

“But…I’ve never…you know…” he said, looking up with a deep crimson staining his cheeks.

Uryuu opened his mouth and then closed it and blinked owlishly at his cousin. “What?”

Ichigo shrugged. “I, you know, I’ve never done _it_.”

“You’re telling me you’ve never had sex?” he asked again.

Ichigo shook his head. “Never…”

“You’ve never given? Or received?” he asked again.

“I said never, Uryuu, what is hard to get?” he said, starting to get frustrated.

Uryuu took off his glasses and cleaned them thoughtfully. “Okay, well, I thought along the way you had…”

Ichigo rolled his eyes again. “When? I never dated in school at all, and I just came out to my dad and in the open this summer!”

“Well, you always had people at your house, both gay and straight! I just thought for sure you’d done something with someone, even if it was one of the girls you had over there all the time! I mean, I kinda figured that had been the case, you know, that you were one of those that came out after they slept with a girl and then decided it was not for them, like I did…” he said, scratching his chin as he put his glasses back on with his other hand.

Ichigo stared at him. “You slept with a girl? Who, and when?” he asked, truly surprised.

Uryuu sighed and leaned back. “It was back the summer I was…fourteen, I think. I went to that camp for the summer, remember? The one for doctors’ kids? You didn’t go because that was the summer you broke your leg. Well, there was this girl there, I can’t even remember her name, and my father had been after me ever since I told him I was gay two years before, so I thought, well, if I’m straight I should like sex with her. So we did it and it was the most disgusting thing I’ve ever done in my life. It just felt _wrong_. And I didn’t want to do it again. When I got home, told Father, look, I tried it, and I hated it. I’ll never forget he looked at me and nodded. That’s when he stopped harping on me. He said that I was being rational and testing a theory before I came to a conclusion. Since the test yielded results that matched the hypothesis that I was gay, he said it was most likely the case.”

Ichigo nodded. He then turned wide eyes on it. “What was it like? The…the girl bits?”

Uryuu grimaced. “Wet and drippy, and it smelled funny, like bad funny, but that might have just been her, she was almost eighteen and I found out later she made her way around the camp that summer. And just I don’t know.”

“Is it like topping at all?” Ichigo asked, still interested in the strange event.

He shook his head. “Not at all.”  
                Ichigo nodded and looked thoughtful for a long moment until a familiar voice brought him out of his reverie. “Ichi, you ready?”

He looked up and smiled at Coyote and nodded. “Yeah, let’s go,” he said, standing and taking the taller man’s hand and waving to Uryuu.

After they got into the car, Coyote looked over and smiled. “You look nice, mi amor. I still can’t get over how you guys walk in those tall shoes all the time…”

“These aren’t heels, they’re geta,” Ichigo said with a soft smile. “I’ve always like geta. On all the anime and in all the manga, the really bad ass characters always wear geta.”

Coyote nodded as they pulled into the parking lot. He got out, and let Ichigo out and took his hand again. Ichigo felt like he had a permanent blush under his makeup. He’d worn a light makeup for the night, nothing as extravagant as Charlotte or Yumichika could do for the stage, just some eye makeup and a bit of lipstick and blush. Though he obviously didn’t need the blush since he was doing a lot of that on his own.   They were seated quickly, and the hostess left them with menus. Ichigo took a moment and chose something of a lower moderate price, mostly because if he spent too much of Coyote’s money he’d feel obligated to give him something in return, and he didn’t want his first time because he felt like he had to “pay” for an expensive dinner. The waiter took their order and Ichigo excused himself to go to the restroom and wash before their meal arrived.

He finished at the toilet and was washing his hands when he heard someone say his name. He turned around and there wasn’t anyone looking his direction. There were several other men in the restroom, but it seemed none of them were paying him any mind. He frowned and grabbed the paper towels and heard another voice say his name again.

He turned to find that again, no one was looking even toward him, and no one looked like they heard it other than him. He decided his mind was playing tricks on him for sure, so he left the bathroom and felt someone grab his arm and pull him backward, only right himself and see everyone staring at him like he’d just tripped. A man beside him looked at him and asked if he was okay. He nodded, and quickly walked back to the table, feeling a bit off settled.

“Is everything okay?” Starrk asked, frowning as Ichigo drank his goblet of water in one drink.

“Yeah, fine, just a little off tonight, I guess,” he said, smiling at him.   Shake it off, he told himself. Nothing to it.

“So, what were Uryuu and you talking of this afternoon, you looked quite interested when I came up,” he said, sipping his wine.

Ichigo felt his face heat. “Um, just relationships and stuff. He was telling me he’d had a relationship with a girl once, so I was asking him about it,” he said, looking everywhere but Starrk’s face. He was convinced if he looked at him he would read in his eyes his strange fears about dating and expectations.

Starrk nodded and leaned back as their food was served. Ichigo opted to dive into it immediately to avoid talking. After a while, they sat quietly. Starrk reached across the now emptied table and took his hand.

“You are trembling, _fresa_. What is the malady?” he asked gently.

Ichigo swallowed. “I…well, you see…you brought me to this nice place, and all that is really nice, but I feel bad because…I like you, but…”

“Not like that?” he said softly and squeezed his hand gently. “That is fine, I did not take you out to this place because I wanted anything from you, mi amor. I simply wanted to have a nice evening with you, which I have.”

Ichigo nodded. “I just, I guess, you know, I’ve never really dated, so this is new.”

Starrk smiled again, patting his hand gently. “Everyone you date will not be right for you, otherwise, you wouldn’t date, now would you?”

Ichigo nodded. “That’s really what I was talking to Uryuu about. That I liked you and I like hanging out with you, but you aren’t the one, you know?”

Starrk nodded. “The one? You want to find the one to spend your life with?” he asked, turning his head to the side a bit.

“Yeah, I guess, I want someone that will be special and we’ll be together for a long time, you know,” he said with a sigh.

“It is a lovely idea, fresa, and I hope you can make that happen. But for now, drink your wine, and let us enjoy the rest of our evening, as two friends?” he said, arching a brow and squeezing his hand again.

Ichigo nodded, releasing a pent up sigh. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

By the time the night was over, Ichigo’s nerves were rattled. Twice, someone had stopped him and said something strange that he couldn’t understand then when he asked what, they said something completely different. And he heard his name again four times as they walked through the park. He decided he simply needed sleep. He didn’t notice the tail that he and Starrk had, walking hand in hand. Grimmjow wasn’t about to let him go out alone.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Grimmjow beat Ichigo and Starrk back to Nel’s house. He went in and was grumbling under his breath when Shiro walked up, sucking on a popsicle from the freezer.

“What’s up, big blue?” he asked.

Grimmjow rolled his eyes. “Nothing.”

“So the date went that well, huh? He go back to his house for a nice night cap?” Shiro said, grinning, and making a lewd motion with the popsicle in his mouth.

Grimmjow opened his mouth when the door opened and Ichigo turned and waved as Starrk pulled away. He turned and saw both Shiro and Grimmjow staring at him. Ichigo and Shiro had hit it off immediately that morning when they’d met. Shiro was a pervert, but an equal opportunity pervert he found, a lot like Nnoitra. He took every chance to make some perverse comment and it never ceased to make Ichigo laugh and blush. He was also really smart about a lot of things, including the drag scene.

“What are you two in the foyer for?” he said, frowning as he kicked his geta of to the side of the door.

“No reason,” Shiro said with a grin and walked away.

Grimmjow glared at Ichigo for a moment before shaking his head and storming off toward the bedroom. Ichigo stared off after him, confused.

“But…I’m not even that late…” he muttered as Wonderweiss walked by in his pajamas and holding his Mothra again. Ichigo had found out he didn’t sleep without the thing and Nel actually had five identical to it stored in sealed boxes in the attic in case it was destroyed or lost.

Wonderweiss looked at him and up the stairs where they heard the bathroom door slam. Ichigo flinched. “He’s mad you were on a date. He just came home. He followed you to make sure you were safe.”

Ichigo at first was angry that he was following him and then looked at Wonderweiss who was still staring up the stairs. “Why would he be made I was on a date?”

Wonderweiss gave him a look that practically screamed if you were any stupider I think you’d be dead.

“Because you weren’t on a date with him,” he said and padded up the stairs and left Ichigo standing stock still at the base of the stairs.

Upstairs the door opened and slammed shut again, followed by a second slam, from the bedroom he was sharing with the blue haired man. He swallowed thickly and thought about what the kid had said. Was that what was wrong with him? He’d been rather grumpy around him since he started dating. He just assumed it was because he was putting himself at risk by going out in public. He shook it away and headed up the stairs to the bathroom.

He took a quick shower and then got out to brush his teeth. He was about to put the paste on the brush when he stared at it for a very long time, trying to figure out what exactly was wrong with it. He blinked. The bristles of the brush were half gone, like someone had taken the brush and cut the bristles halfway down. He frowned. How in the world would something like that happen? He shrugged, putting it on the sink and then rummaging in the junk drawer for the spare Nel had told him was there. Karin and Yuzu were over a lot, and Karin was the type to try and prank her brother by doing something like that.

He tossed the toothbrush on his way out of the bathroom. He went into the dark bedroom and crawled onto the futon he was sleeping on. Grimmjow was breathing long, deep breaths, so he assumed he was sleeping. He decided in his mood he wasn’t going to tell him about the weirdness during his date with Starrk or about the fact that he wasn’t interested in Starrk like that. He was asleep before long.

Grimmjow wasn’t sleeping, though. He was very much wide awake, thinking over what was going on in his head. There was a lot that he was thinking about. Top of that list is that he was steadily falling for the young man he was trying to protect. He closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep where the world seemed so much clearer.

_“Grimm-kitty!” came a familiar voice._

_Grimmjow turned around to find his Hanataro standing beside a panther that was at least up to his hips. “Hana?” he asked. “What’s going on?”_

_Hanataro smiled, his ability to light up the room with his smile still the same even in Grimmjow’s dreams. And Grimmjow was no fool; he knew he was dreaming because his Hana was very dead._

_“Grimm-kitty, what are you doing?” he asked, hand scratching the head of the beast beside him. “You’re still grieving for me and you should have already moved on.”_

_“How can I move on until they’re caught?” he asked, finding that he couldn’t move forward even in his dream. The panther yawned._

_“You can move on. You have to move on. I’ve been gone a long time, Grimm-kitty.”_

_“I miss you still.”_

_“You can move on and still miss me, you can, I promise. I want you to move on. Do you think I’d ever want to see you sad? I can’t make you happy, but he can. He can fill that hollow space in the pit of your stomach. I know it’s been there ever since you found that book on the doorstep. They pulled a piece of you away. You need it back to live. You’re alive, Grimm-kitty, but you’re not Living.” Hanataro looked sad._

_“Don’t be sad, Hana, I love you, still, always,” Grimmjow said, reaching out as his image started to fade._

_“But Grimm-kitty, you can love me forever, but I’m not there to love you back. Love him, for me, please, Grimm-kitty, you have to be happy, or I’ll be sad forever.”_

Grimmjow sat up gasping for breath and reaching into the darkness, his heart beating steadily in his ears. The darkness was cloying and there was a chill he couldn’t shake. He pulled the covers over him and rolled to his side and stared right into Ichigo’s face. He’d rolled toward the middle of the room as well in his sleep, and had one arm thrown over his head, and the arm nearest to Grimmjow was thrown out to the side and his hand dangled to the floor. He’d missed some of his eyeliner in the shower, and there was a dark line under one eye that was smudged. His mouth hung slightly agape and he was breathing deeply. And for some reason, the chill disappeared, and Grimmjow slept.

 

 


	8. A Little Bit Genius

Grimmjow woke up before Ichigo the next morning, he wasn’t sure why, it just seemed to happen. Ichigo had rolled again during the night, it seemed and the arm that was previously thrown over his head was now joining the other draping to the floor. His head was tilted upward, and Grimmjow that there wasn’t a more peaceful sight that he’d ever seen. His eyes fixated on his lips, and there was a sudden urge to kiss them, and he shook himself. He had to stop this. He couldn’t get involved with his…his…what? Grimmjow slowly sat up and frowned. It wasn’t like he was looking to get a bounty on Ichigo. He was trying to save Ichigo’s life, but what did that make him? It wasn’t like he was a cop or anything, or even a private investigator protecting a client. He wasn’t even really a bodyguard since Ichigo could well handle himself, and if the killers got to him, he had a feeling Grimmjow couldn’t stop them anymore than Ichigo could. They never used direct attacks and were always using subterfuge. He stood and headed to the shower. One good thing was Ichigo showered at night to get the drag make up off him, so they didn’t have to worry about sharing a shower. Why was he thinking of sharing a shower with him? Grimmjow thumped his head against the wall. He had to stop this. It was…inappropriate. But why?

He put on his sweats and headed down the stairs. It was about seven in the morning, and he heard the TV already. Animal Planet, he saw as he walked by. He paused. It was one of those Ten Most Dangerous shows. He loved those. He smiled and went into the kitchen where Nel was busy getting ready for their day.

“What’s up, bro?” she asked, sliding a cup of coffee over to him.

“Nothing,” he said, dumping way more sugar than necessary into the cup. Nel knew that Grimmjow only did that when something was really bothering him.

“Don’t tell me nothing,” Nel said, leaning over and giving him the glare.

Grimmjow couldn’t ignore her. Not with that look on her face. “It…well, it’s Ichigo. I find myself thinking about him and I might…you know…find him attractive and…”

“So? Tell him,” she said with a grin. “I swear, you’re so stupid sometimes.”

“But…he’s my…I mean, I’m protecting him, and he’s being stalked by serial killers, how can I justify getting into a relationship with him? Or even bringing up such a crazy idea?” he said, sighing deeply and sipping his coffee.

Nel shook his head. “You know, just go for it. He’s obviously looking for a relationship that lasts and not a one night stand if he dumped Coyote last night.”

Grimmjow looked up. “He dumped Coyote?”

Nel rolled her eyes. “Of course, he waved at him and Coyote stayed in the car when he came in last night. They are obviously not an item. I saw Coyote. That man could get any man or woman into his bed with that sleepy grin and laid back attitude. He would barely have to lift a finger.”

Grimmjow nodded and sipped his coffee slowly. He couldn’t understand it. Then he felt the prickling sensation of being watched. He turned and saw Wonderweiss standing there by the door staring at him, dressed in shorts and a t-shirt for his day.

“You don’t think you can save him, that’s why you won’t say anything,” he said, tipping his head to the side and looking at Grimmjow. “You think if you keep your distance, when he dies and you fail, you won’t hurt so much. You’re afraid if you love him like you did Hanataro, he’ll die, and you’ll be sad again. But that’s not right. You never stopped being sad.”

Wonderweiss turned and walked toward the door where he would wait for Nel to take him to the car. Grimmjow sat and stared at his back for a long time with his mind spinning in crazy circles. Again and again the words played back for him. The kid was right. He hadn’t ever stopped being sad. Not since the day Hana was found missing.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Karin and Yuzu grabbed their lunches and headed out to the grassy area they ate on with Lillinette and Wonderweiss. Since meeting up with Lillinette and Yachiru, they’d become fast frineds, and quite the little group. Yachiru was a couple years younger, so she had a different lunch period than they did. They saw that Wonderweiss had beat them there as they approached, and then they saw that there was a group of three students standing nearby and Wonderweiss had the stance that said he was anxious. Yuzu and Karin ran forward the rest of the way.

“The hell are you guys doing here? This is our spot!” Karin said, glaring at the three boys.

The tallest boy, Daniel, snickered. “Your spot? You mean you eat lunch with the retard?”

Yuzu and Karin shook their heads and sat down, Karin pulling Wonderweiss down with her. He smiled at her and took out his bento silently. None of them spared a glance at the rude or annoying boys. Karin and Yuzu had discussed it at length with both Lillinette and Wonderweiss. They simply were not going to give the bullies any more of their attention. They thrived on attention, so simply refusing to give it to them would help enormously. At least, that was the idea.

“Hey, don’t ignore us!” the second boy, a boy named Ryu or something if Karin remembered right, yelled. “My brother told me you bunch were trouble.”

“Your brother?” Yuzu said and then nodded. “You’re Hinto’s little brother, that’s right. Glad to see bullying runs in your family.”

“He told me that you guys were the retard’s bodyguards,” he said and glanced at the other two. “Pretty pathetic that he has a bunch of _girls_ defending him.”

Yuzu saw Karin’s eye twitch. Yuzu knew a storm when she saw it coming, and anyone accusing Karin of being anything less than she was brought on one hell of a storm. Karin stood up so fast she nearly knocked the taller Ryu down.

“What did you say? Something wrong with girls?”

All three boys backed up. “Screw you, Kurosaki. Like you’re a girl. Licked any pussy lately, lezzie?” the third boy, a foul mouthed boy that had been held back a year with blonde hair named Kenamaru.

Karin looked at him dead in the eyes. There was no point in saying anything about him assuming she was a lesbian. Let him think that. Denying it would mean she agreed there was something wrong with being a lesbian, and there wasn’t a damn thing wrong with it. She refused to give this bully or any of his friends the satisfaction of thinking that she agreed with them for even a moment. Not to mention her sexuality, or anyone’s for that matter, wasn’t any of their damn business. Instead she went with insult for insult.

“I guarantee that I’ve been closer to pussy than you have Ken, oh wait, I have one,” she said, clasping a hand against her crotch with a grin. “Not like you’ve ever seen one before, smart ass. Your daddy’s porn collection doesn’t count, by the way. No girl in their right mind would let you near them. Just looking at them might give them herpes.”

His eyes flashed for a moment then he sighed. “At least I don’t hang with retards and idiots.”

“That’s funny, you know, because have you checked the standings for our class they put out today?” came a voice near them. “They just put them up after the break started. Funny thing, guess who might be top in our class?”

Lillinette had a smug look on her face as she sat down and pulled Wonderweiss into a hug. He smiled at her and continued eating, completely ignoring the confrontation with the boys. They no longer held any interest for him.

“Oh, one of you lesbian bitches?” Ryu said, rolling his eyes.

“Nope,” Lillinette said, munching on her rice ball. “I’m number twelve. Karin is seven, and Yuzu is four. Number one will surprise you. No surprise though, none of your names were in the top fifty.”

Karin snorted and smiled. “They’d have to spend more time listening and doing their work than playing on their phones to get in the top fifty,” she said and sat back down.

“Oh, well who is first this term?” Daniel asked, rolling his eyes.

“Wonderweiss,” she said, sipping her can of juice.

All three boys stared. “What?” Ryu finally said. “But he’s retarded!”

“If he was retarded, would he have tested top of our class?” Yuzu asked.

“And the term is Intellectually Delayed, if you must know. But no, Wonderweiss does not have an intellectual delay. He has autism, stupid. You don’t get the excuse of even having an intellectual delay, you’re just plain stupid and ignorant. A developmental delay doesn’t affect his IQ, only his social skills and emotional control, and his IQ is over 130, but they can’t say exactly how much over it is,” Karin supplied. “I know this because I work with him every week. I know him, you don’t. Why don’t you go talk out your asses about something else you know nothing about?”

The three boys stammered another minute before they simply left. Lillinette shook her head and resumed eating and they began talking over what they had each brought with them.

Suddenly, Karin smiled. “We should see if we can go see Ichigo tonight on stage! I mean, us, with Yachiru, I mean, as long as we get someone to take us…like Nel and Grimmjow!”

Wonderweiss looked up. “I’d like to see the club. I’d like to see the show with Ichigo in it. Ichigo is nice.”

Lillinette grinned. “Kirikaze is doing a long set tonight, not just the between show sets, so after the drag show they’ll be on all evening. It would be the perfect night to go down there!”

Before they broke, they’d all already decided on going. It would take a little convincing of their parental figures, but somehow they doubted any of them would give them much trouble. They had all perfected the perfect puppy dog pout long ago.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Nemu Kurosuchi was glowing with a lovely tan after her trip to the Caribbean with her husband Mayuri. Of course, it had been a working vacation because her husband had been at a very long and involved conference. Mayuri was the head of big pharmaceutical company’s research department, currently, and the conference had been a meeting about some new drugs that he was working on with some overseas cooperation. He had really spent most his time in the lab, but then, that was how he preferred even his vacations. However, she spent her time enjoying herself greatly. Mayuri had decided to drop into the club with her when they got back and check in on things after he had heard of the excitement they’d had there while Nemu and him were gone.

“Mayuri, go home, you’re tired,” she said as they went in the back door.

“I will do as I like, Nemu, shut up,” he said, looking around. Nemu sighed and headed in to find Kenpachi and see how things had gone.

“Nemu, you’re back,” the huge man said as he looked up from his paperwork. His daughter was lying on the couch and sketching while she listened to her mp3 player and reading a book. Now and then her fingers were tap on her jean clad knees and she’d turn the page. It was a classic, Nemu saw as she moved. She was reading Rebecca by Daphne DuMauier.

“How are things?” Nemu asked while Mayuri rolled his eyes.

“Mayuri, sit the fuck down, shut the fuck up, and let me talk to your wife,” Kenpachi said, not looking up. He didn’t have to look up to know the man was being rude. He was always rude.

Mayuri snorted and sat down. Kenpachi was one of the few people he didn’t mouth off to, at least, not anymore. One ER visit had changed his tune about approaching Kenpachi with his usual level of venom. To be honest, no one, Kenpachi included, could understand why Nemu was with the jerk. She seemed to love him, but no one had any idea why.

“So, yeah, newbies in, Ichigo Kurosaki and Ggio Vega, both in Dangai, though Ichigo has performed with the Hainekos a couple times. Had two incidents, both involving Ichigo. First was someone sent him a dress that was coated in powered chlorine, he had a few burns but recovered in a week. Second incident was on stage, Cirucci, Illfordt’s ex, was drunk and Ichigo and Illfordt were doing a scene together. She tossed a highball glass and pegged the poor bastard right in the head,” Kenpachi said with a sigh. “Those were the only major incidents while you’ve been gone. There are a group of bounty hunters in the club, though, headed by this blue haired fellow named Grimmjow Jagerjaquez, give them your cooperation. Seems that Ichigo is actually being targeted by this pair of serial killers that Grimmjow is trying to snag. Others are Edrad, Shiro, Di Roy and Shawlong. I’ve given them all cards to identify themselves if one of you guys asks.”

Nemu nodded. “Busy couple months?”

Kenpachi nodded. “I hope your vacation was good.”

“I had a great time,” she said, smiling. “He spent the whole time working in the lab. But that was what we went there for. However, I’ll take two months in the Caribbean anytime.”

Mayuri snorted. “Of course you will,” he muttered.

“You say something Mayuri?” Kenpachi said, flipping through papers. There was no response.

“Okay, I’ll see if I can meet the new boys tonight, then,” she said with a smile as she stood.

“Oh, Ichigo has his sisters coming in a bit along with Lillinette and another kid. He’s going to take them in the back to mess with the clothes before showtime. Yachiru is gonna be messing around with them, too, so just a head’s up in case you hear anything,” Kenpachi said, nodding as the Kurosuchis left.

Mayuri sighed. “I need a drink after listening to that brute prattle on,” he muttered.

“Well, go have one, I’ve got to change and then get out on the floor. Try not to get too drunk,” she said, smiling softly.

“I’ll damn well get drunk if I want to get drunk,” he responded with a snarl.

Nemu shook her head. “Of course, dear. Whatever you say, dear.”

She headed back and changed into jeans and her security shirt.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Yachiru put her book back in her pack and sat up and looked over at her dad who was going over paperwork. She stood up and put her arms around his back.

“What’s up, sweetheart?” he said, putting his pen down and turning to face her with a smile.

“You work hard,” she said with a smile. “I’m happy you’re protecting Ichi. His sisters are really nice, you know. Lil and I have a lot of fun with them.”

Kenpachi smiled at her. She had grown so very much from the baby he’d been left with all those years ago. Who would have thought a kid’s mom would abandon her less than three months after she was born? Kenpachi still didn’t know where the bitch ran off to, and he was glad he didn’t. They’d never even really gotten married, so it didn’t matter. His name was on Yachiru’s birth certificate, that’s all that mattered in the end. As he stared at his daughter he felt tears behind his eyes as he thought back to that day nearly thirteen years ago.

She’d been crying all night, his girlfriend Miko, not Yachiru. Kenpachi could tell when he got home from his shift. He was a rookie beat cop, and he was stuck on the 7pm to 7am shift. Yachiru was screaming in her crib and his girlfriend was sitting in front of it with puffy red eyes and a soaking wet shirt. Kenpachi had run in and grabbed the baby, picking up and feeling a very heavy diaper. He screamed at her, screamed about why hadn’t she changed the baby? Had she even fed her?

Miko didn’t stop crying. She just ran and locked herself in the bathroom. Kenpachi calmed the poor child down and got her into a dry diaper and clothes and made a bottle as quickly as he could. The poor thing took it with such a look of thanks in her eyes that Kenpachi’s heart nearly broke. Finally, he’d taken off his uniform shirt and undershirt, and settled into the recliner with her asleep on his chest. Finally Miko came out of their bedroom dressed and with a suitcase. She looked haunted.

_“I can’t do this, Ken. I can’t do this. I’m not ready. I’m not a mom. I love you. But I don’t love her. And you won’t give her up, I know that. So I’m leaving her with you. Take care, Ken.”_

And with that, she was gone. Kenpachi’s life had been turned upside down. He had to quit the force and started bouncing at local clubs at night so he could take care of Yachiru during the day. He hired babysitters to stay the night with her, and he kept watch during the day. It was exhausting, and it was long, but he did it all by himself. Never did he miss a school function, or a time when she needed him to be there. When he met Shinji he found the perfect job, because if no one could watch her, the drag queens and kings were more than willing to keep an eye on her and Shinji didn’t mind if she played in the clothes. Kenpachi had never been so thankful.

A knock at the door broke his thoughts and he looked up. “Enter!”

The door opened and Ichigo was standing there with a grin. “Yachiru, Karin and Yuzu are here with Wonderweiss and Lillinette, you want to go show Wonderweiss around?”

Yachiru kissed Kenpachi on the cheek and took off after them. Kenpachi watched and thought to himself how much life would be diminished without her by his side. He missed Miko some days. And Some days he hated her and others he loved her. It was okay though. He had Yachiru, and that was what mattered in the end.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

As Nemu came out she heard giggling and laughter from the change area.

“That’s it, look at you!” a male voice said, descending into giggles. “Wonderweiss that is _so_ you.”

She came around and saw an orange haired boy sitting on the floor half in drag while Yachiru and Lillinette ran around in some of the glamour outfits. There were two girls she didn’t know also dressed up, though the dark haired one was wearing some of the drag king stuff instead of the queen stuff. A shortish blonde boy with beautiful violet eyes was dressed in a schoolgirl outfit and modeling for everyone who were all giggling at his antics.

The orange haired boy burst into giggles as the dark haired girl came out with one of the faux bears on. “Karin, oh my gods, you should see yourself, you look like Arisawa!”

Ichigo fell backward then and saw Nemu standing in the doorway. He jumped up and came over and extended a hand. “Hi! Ichigo, hope we weren’t disturbing anyone?” he said, big brown eyes wide.

Nemu shook her head. “No, I just got back from vacation, so I was looking for you and the other newbie.”

Ichigo nodded. “Well, like I said, I’m Ichigo, then I guess you know Lillinette and Yachiru, and these are my sisters, Karin with the darker hair, and Yuzu is the other. And this is Wonderweiss, he’s Grimmjow’s nephew, I guess.”

Nemu smiled and nodded. “Good to meet everyone. Keni told me a little about what’s going on with you, Ichigo.”

Ichigo rolled his eyes. “Really, I think people are overreacting. I mean, the dress thing was annoying, and I get strange texts and messages, but whatever these people are, they haven’t done anything yet too bad. I think maybe they’re just bored copycats, not the real killers Grimmjow’s after,” he said with a firm shake of his head.

“Why’s that?” she asked.

Ichigo shook his head. “I mean, why would anyone want to do something like that to me? I’m nobody, you know,” he said with a sigh.

Nemu and Ichigo missed the fact that Ggio had been coming down the hall and stopped when he heard them talking. Again, he wondered if it was them. Should he get involved though? First, he supposed that he should see Grimmjow and find out for sure if they were after the same people. If they were, it would be one thing, but if they weren’t, it wouldn’t matter, of course. So he headed down to the main area and saw the blue haired man sitting with a bunch of others, his bounty hunter friends, he guessed. So he headed over there and everyone looked up as he approached. He scratched idly at the scars hidden under the tiger print scarf he wore around his neck.

“Yeah, my name’s Ggio, and…” he started.

“Ggio Vega,” the one across the table that looked like an albino or something said, arching a brow. “Was wondering when you’d come find us. Figured you wanted your privacy so we decided to wait.”

Ggio frowned. “How do you know about me?”

Grimmjow sighed, shaking his head. “He’s INTERPOL, though don’t tell anyone. He has your case file, and they knew you were here. In fact, they’ve already put security details on you since we’ve confirmed we’re after the same people.”

“So it is them,” he said, chewing on the inside of his lip for a moment. “I mean, of course it is. Just strange, come this far and have them show up here of all places.”

“We can take you in,” Shiro said, crossing his arms and leaning back. “No reason to be afraid of them.”

Ggio shook his head. “You misunderstand. I’m not afraid of them. That’s why I’m not dead, I never really was afraid, and they couldn’t stand it. No, I just find it fate or something that put me here. Maybe I’m here to help their next victim survive.”

“I’m sure everyone would appreciate that,” Edrad said with a sigh. “I don’t know what else we’re going to do because we’re having no luck catching them in the act.”

“They use others, you know,” Ggio said with a nod.

Shiro and Grimmjow exchanged a look. This was always a suspicion, though they’d never confirmed it. “What do you mean?”

“They have ties with every illegal organization around them. They work for them in their spare time, do them favors, small heists, small hits, you know. They do it for free so when they need someone, they have them. That way they have this vast network of people to enact their plans without getting caught. Trying to mess with someone’s head the way they do, it means they have to have lots of people planted and doing things for them,” Ggio said with a nod. “Bambietta took great pride in explaining in detail how they did the things they did to me before they finally kidnapped me. They used people in my father’s own household to steal things, remove stuff, replace and break things, just to mess with my perceptions of reality and manipulate me into breaking for her. It didn’t work; I never gave her what she wanted. That’s why they left me to die and didn’t kill me themselves.”

Grimmjow looked down at his hands. “So there is no way to completely protect him from their attacks. If it isn’t specifically them we’re looking for, there’s no telling who could be doing their dirtywork. That’s why we never got any descriptions matching one of them with the dress delivery. Someone was paid off to do it.”

Ggio nodded. “Yeah, and it will continue this way for a long time until they’re satisfied that he thinks he’s losing his mind. Then they strike. Look, I just wanted to know for sure if it was them. They won’t recognize me, I’ve had so many reconstructive surgeries I look like a different person now. But I would like to know what they do. Maybe I can help along the way,” he said and nodded as he turned and left the group alone to think.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Kaname Tōsen didn’t go to Las Noches very often. The visual stimulus was of little use to his blind eyes. However, going to listen to Kirakaze, his friend Shuuhei’s band, was something he greatly enjoyed doing. Getting there, however, required a friend to come along and drive him. While Tōsen could do about everything a sighted person could do, the one thing he couldn’t do was travel long distances independently. So tonight, he’d recruited his dear friend and neighbor Sajin Komamura, a man who trained therapy dogs for a living, to come along. He’d brought one of his dogs, as well. He was a beautiful brown dog named Chairo. Sajin, however, stuck out with or without a dog at a towering six foot seven in height and a head of shock white hair that ended in orange colored tips. Tōsen, himself, of course wasn’t inconspicuous. He himself was of a deep chocolate complexion and wore a pair of wraparound shades that covered up his white, sightless eyes. He generally wore simple outfits, long tunics with plain straight legged pants. Tonight was no different. As usual, he and Sajin were getting their fair share of looks, and Tōsen heard the mumbled conversations going on around them. Even in a place like Las Noches, there were people that held to their judgmental attitudes and bigoted outlooks on life.

Tōsen was kneeling and petting the head of the dog idly as they waited in the line. “So, what kind of therapy dog is Chairo, anyway?” he asked.

“I’ve been working on dogs for special needs kids lately. You know, autism, other issues like that. They are great at helping calm them down and improve their skills with humans,” the taller man said, smiling down at the dog. He was a very well behaved animal, but then all of Sajin’s animals were well behaved. “I may prefer my animals, but I do know how they help those that don’t get along easily with other people.”

Tōsen stood up as the line began to move and they went in, the security at the door not even blinking at Sajin’s dog as they entered. Nemu was used to Sajin brining his dogs in, of course. He brought them to help get them used to crowds and noises which would be encountered in their work. Tōsen and Sajin chose a table close to the band stage, and they would listen while the drag show went on, but the band was the real reason they were there. Before long, Shuuhei came and sat down beside the pair.

“Well, hey there,” he said, grinning.

“Shu, how are you?” Tōsen asked smiling at him.

“Good, man, how are you two doing?” he said, watching as the crowd filled in.

“Relatively well, it has been a while since I’ve come to listen to you play, so I drug Sajin along with me tonight,” he said. “He’s brought a pup with him, Chairo, this time.”

Shuuhei nodded. “Well, I thought I’d say hi, we’re still setting up for the show tonight, enjoy the drag show. Hopefully, there aren’t any…incidents.”

Sajin gave him a strange look as he moved off. A few minutes later a blonde boy was standing at the table right by his elbow giving him a start. Sajin stared at the wide eyed boy. His violet eyes were striking and he was just staring at Sajin.

“Wonderweiss?” Sajin heard someone call. “Wonderweiss, where did you go to…oh there you are!” a woman with green hair came walking up. “I’m sorry, he’s usually very good at staying with us,” she said. “Wonderweiss, what is it?”

“He has a dog. I wanted to see it.”

Sajin glance down at Chairo who was looking up expectantly at him. “Would you like to pet him?”

Wonderweiss nodded. “I would. I like dogs. And cats. And animals. I like bugs too. And ducks. And…”

“Okay, Wonderweiss, he gets that you like all animals. Pet the dog, please,” she said with a sigh, looking bemused.

Sajin watched as he kneeled and interact with the dog. He looked up at Nel. “Autism?” he asked.

Nel blinked and nodded. “Do you know someone with it? Most people just think he’s ‘weird’.”

Sajin smiled. “Actually, Chairo is a therapy dog. I train all sorts for a living. The last batch of puppies I raised was autism therapy dogs.”

Nel arched a green brow and sat down across from him. “Really? I’ve never known someone that trained and raised therapy dogs. I work with the schools and special needs kids. I adopted Wonderweiss a few years ago out of an abusive situation. We’ve made some huge improvements since then, but the social arena is still so foreign to him.”

“He seems to like you,” Sajin said, as Wonderweiss petted the small dog.

“He does like me. And I like him,” Wonderweiss answered. “He is a Cavalier and Tibetan Spaniel mix, commonly referred to as a Tibalier. Markings are consistent with a Tibetan spaniel. Chairo means light brown. Well behaved and trained dog. Therapy dogs have a calming effect on individuals who suffer from phobias and/or anxiety in social situations.”

Sajin arched a brow. “You certainly know your dogs.”

Wonderweiss didn’t look up as he spoke, but continued petting the dog. “I know a lot about a lot of animals. Animals and bugs and arachnids. I am knowledgeable in many species.”

Nel shook her head. “Half the time I’m unclear about what he’s talking about,” she said with a sigh. “But he does love animals more than anything else.”

Behind them, the drag show had started, so they turned to watch the scenes unfold. Wonderweiss ignored everything except the dog he was petting and playing with. His focus had not been so narrow in many days. After the drag show ended Nel turned back to the pair and smiled while Kirikaze geared up for their first set of the night.

“I didn’t properly introduce myself, my name’s Nel. And of course, this is Wonderweiss. We’re here to watch the drag show, but my brother is here working, sort of with security, I guess,” she said looking around and saw him talking to someone in a security shirt. “That’s him, blue hair over there.”

Sajin nodded. “Do you bring Wonderweiss often?”

“Oh goodness, no. Him and his friends managed to convince us to let them all come tonight and watch the show and listen to the band. They’re a good bunch of kids, one is the bartender’s sister, another one that head security guy’s daughter, and then the two girls are friends of Wonderweiss from school, but their brother is a drag performer,” she said with a smile.

Just then there was a clink as a bottle of sake and cups were sat down in front of them. Nel looked up to see Coyote smiling at them. “Ah, Nel, mi flora, you have found mis amigos, they are good company, please enjoy one bottle, on the house,” he said with a wink. “For keeping such a good eye on mi hermanita.”

“Thank you, Coyote,” she said with a smile. “Oh, how’d your date go with Ichigo?”

He smiled gently back. “Ah, mi fresa, he was not keen on my company in the romantic relations, so I will move on. He is a good amigo, though.”

“Strange how everyone knows each other,” Tōsen commented, smiling as he heard Hisagi strumming.

“How do you know each other, anyway?” she said, looking between them. They were quite the odd pair.

Sajin poured three cups of sake. “This fellow moved in near me out in the country. I was still a kid, lived out in the country, little mountain town...”

Tōsen snorted. “You speak as though that fact has changed, my friend. You still have the same abode you did as child.”

Sajin smiled. “Yes, of course. It is a family farm, after all.   Besides being a lovely place, there was a school for blind children in the town. Nice peaceful place, very expensive, but this young man could afford it, he’s the son of a Japanese ambassador.”

“Not that it helped me avoid being teased and bullyed constantly,” Tōsen said. “My mother was Kenyan, and I found quite early that being of mixed blood is not often a benefit in the political arena. Of course, my obvious disability made that difficult as well,” he said, gesturing to his eyes. “The mountain school was better than the constant jibes and questions in the larger cities.”

Sajin nodded. “Imagine my surprise when this chocolate skinned boy comes up to my porch holding a lamb that had run onto the property they were living on next to us. He was all rough and tumble looking, hair frizzed and sticking out everywhere, and his eyes were this strange milky white. But the way he moved, one would never know he had no sight. He knew I was nearby even thought I wasn’t moving at all. Amazing, I thought,” he said with a smile.

“What is more amazing is when I can pry you off the farm to come to Karakura town on the train with me,” Tōsen commented, smiling as the keyboard player warmed up on a few bars of one of the songs they would be performing.

Sajin shook his head, glancing down where Wonderweiss was playing with the pup still. “I cannot help it if I am a busy man. I must care for my animals and feed the cats and help the vet when he calls on my assistance,” he said with a smile over at Nel.

“Goodness, you are busy,” Nel said.

“My family has owned the land for generations, a history of farming and breeding animals. We’ve come up with some innovations in the past. I’m all that’s left, though, so I’m not sure who will carry on the Komamura legacy.”

Tōsen smiled. “Well, maybe one day you’ll find that wife you’ve dreamed of, my friend. Now, Shuuhei is about to play.”

Nel looked up as the dark haired man waved at them. “You know him too?”

Tōsen nodded. “I met him several months ago, before he got this gig with Shinji. I put them in contact with each other.”

Nel smiled. “Aren’t you the well connected man?”  
                Tōsen smiled. “Yes, funny, is it not, the blind man sees better the connections between people than most sighted ones?”

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Ichigo waved as his sisters and the others headed out front to watch the show. He had a light night as the Hainekos were off tonight. He was up second, though, so he decided to make a pit stop in the bathroom before he went on stage. He really didn’t like the idea of having to get out of his outfit once he had it on, but he also didn’t like to go on stage and squirm because he had to pee really badly. Going to take a piss in hose was a pain in the ass, he’d found. Those things didn’t like to stay up or down. So he’d opted for a garter belt and thigh highs from now on, he swore. He understood now why so many of the other performers stayed away from the regular hose and tights.

He was washing his hands when something in the mirror caught his attention. It was something that glinted in the light, and he was relatively sure that there wasn’t supposed to be something up there. So he dried his hands and saw that there was something in the corner of one of the ceiling tiles. He grabbed the step stool from the closet and stood up and found it was a camera lens. He frowned and pushed up on the square of the tile and pulled out a very small camera. Obviously it was transmitting the feed, rather than recording on the camera. He hopped down and headed up to the security office. He thought he remembered Kenpachi saying that he had paperwork to turn in before the end of the next day, and the incident reports he had to fill out were monsters.

He knocked and got a grumbled reply, so he opened the door and found the large man leaning over his desk. “Yup?” he said without looking up.

“I hope I’m not doing something wrong, but I was in the bathroom down by the change rooms, and I saw something, and I found this,” Ichigo said, holding out the small camera.

Kenpachi frowned and took it. “Where was it?”

“One of the ceiling tiles, I just happened to see a glint off the lens, so I looked, and found it. I didn’t know if it was something you put there…” he said, shrugging.

Kenpachi shook his head. “I don’t use these, I can’t afford these on our budget, actually,” he said, examining it. “It transmits through cell data networks to the home base. I have wired closed circuits. No, this was not put there by us…”

Ichigo felt a chill go up his spine. What if there were others? “Who would have put it there?” he asked.

Kenpachi shook his head. “I don’t know, but go on with the show, I’ll get Shinji to take a look at it.”

Ichigo nodded and headed out to wait for his skit to come up. Kenpachi stared at the little device, turning it to stare into the lens. “If you think you mother fuckers are going to fuck with one of the boys under my watch, you are going to fucking regret it,” he said into the lens before he switched the transmitter off on the side.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

“Oh, I think we pissed the big man off,” Bambietta said as the image on the laptop went black as the transmitter was cut off on the camera.

“You think it was wise doing that where they could find it so easily?” Quilge said, spinning a metal ring around his index finger as he lay back on the couch.

Bambietta grinned at him and stood up. “Of course. I didn’t put it there, and neither did you and they’ll never trace the signal. Not since it bounces off a satellite.”

“How much longer before we can play with him?” Quilge said with a sigh. “You promised I could have some fun with the next one, remember?”

Bambietta went into the hotel kitchenette and poured a glass of orange juice and topped it with a healthy dose of vodka. “Yeah, yeah, I told you that I would let you play with this one. Why don’t you just go to a gay bar and find some silly little boy to fuck?”

He flopped over on his side. “It isn’t as much fun when they aren’t screaming, you know that.”

Bambietta grinned. “Man after my own heart,” she said, taking a long drink out of her glass.

“That’s why we’re together, isn’t it?” he said, turning over to face her in the chair beside the couch.

“I guess, too bad you’re a fuckin’ gay boy. We could have some fun as much time as we’re alone,” she said, putting her feet up on the table and leaning back to stare at the ceiling.

Quilge rolled his eyes and got up. “I couldn’t fuck you either way, you’re like my annoying sister,” he said, standing up and going to the kitchen to fix himself a drink.

“True, and it wouldn’t work anyway. I seem to need some…blood to stimulate me. Anyway, so what next?” she said as he came back and flopped into the couch with his own drink. Orange juice with a healthy dose of peach schnapps. He preferred fruity drinks.

“Well, next we have the next group go out when he does. Use the same tactics again, repeated encounters with the mixed signals, should weaken his resolve a bit. He’s unusually resilient, though. I hope we don’t end up like Madrid again…”

Bambietta fixed him with a glare. “Do not _ever_ mention Madrid. You know better.”

Quilge winced, slugging back the whole glass. “Sorry, didn’t mean to bring that up.”

“Fuck, that little bitch,” she said, draining her own glass and staring hard at the ceiling again. “Fuck. Wonder if he bled out?”

Her partner shook his head. “No idea, doesn’t matter, he wasn’t worth our time if he didn’t give us what we wanted,” he said, getting her glass and going to refill them both.

He handed over her glass to her and sat back down. “How much longer do you think?” he asked, wincing as he realized he’d grabbed her screwdriver just as she made a face.

“Here, take your fairy drink,” she said, handing him the fuzzy navel and taking her screwdriver. “I don’t know how you drink that shit.”  
                He shook his head. “And I don’t know how you drink that awful stuff,” he said, rolling his eyes.

As darkness descended outside the motel room, anyone passing by would never know the people that lay within the moderately priced hotel on the outskirts of Karakura Town. They’d stay two nights, then move on. They were nice people, a good couple on their honeymoon. And then never looked the same at two places.


	9. Philosophies of Life

Karin was in love with the game of baseball. Granted, she was in love with every sport she came across, and she was damn good at all of them. Soccer was her favorite, by far, but baseball was her second favorite thing, she had to think. This was the only reason that she agreed blindly to play with people she didn’t know. She was on the soccer field and a girl she didn’t know came running up to her and said they needed another for her brother’s baseball team, and Karin looked to be capable. Karin had smiled at the girl, a shorter girl that had longish dark hair that hung in between her eyes and a sleepy look to her face, and told her sure, she loved baseball. She ran over to where Yachiru, Lillinette and Yuzu were sitting talking and waved.

“Hey, there’s a baseball game this girl wants me to play, come on, see how good they are with me,” she yelled.

The three girls got up and followed her. As Karin watched, though, she noticed a lingering glance that passed between her sister and Lillinette, and the fact that when Lillinette helped her up her hand lingered a bit longer than necessary in Yuzu’s. She frowned and then grinned. Now this would be amusing. And she was the one that got called the lesbian…

They met up and followed the girl, who introduced herself as Ururu, and Lillinette suddenly yelled and waved at someone. Yachiru ran off toward whoever Lillinette was waving at, and the others followed. As they approached Yachiru was hugging a man in a striped green and white hat who stood with a woman with a purple-black ponytail.

“Karin, Yuzu, you haven’t met Urahara and Yoruichi, they’re at the club too!” Yachiru informed them.

Karin shook her head. “Whatever, man, I got a baseball game,” she said and ran out onto the field with the others.

“Kisuke, this is Yuzu Kurosaki, Yuzu this is Kisuke Urahara and his wife Yoruichi. Kisuke is the publicity manager at the club, and one of the operations team,” Lillinette explained.

Urahara smiled and bowed to him. “Nice to meet you, Yuzu-san. I see your sister enjoys baseball as much as my friend Tessai’s nephew, Jinta.”

Just then a very large man came up and nodded to Urahara. “They have enough players now. Jinta has stopped ranting,” he said.

“Girls, this is Jinta and Ururu’s uncle, and a dear friend of mine. He’s coming to Las Noches actually. He’s taking over the kitchen full time, so we’ll be able to add food to our list of things we can do every night!” Urahara said with a smile. “Jinta will be in the same grade as you, Lillinette.”

Lillinette smiled and looked out on the field at the red haired boy who was in discussion with Karin about something to do with the game. “Huh, looks like he’s getting along quite well with Karin…”

Yuzu smiled. “She likes him,” she said with a grin. “Karin hasn’t met a boy she _ever_ liked before.”

Tessai arched a brow at Urahara who gave him a smirk in return as the girls cheered for the team Jinta and Karin were on. Together, they soundly beat the other team.

As soon as the game was over they came over to find everyone had sat together. Urahara stood up a clapped.

“Hey, guys, how about I take everyone for some ice cream after that game?” he said with a grin.

“You bet,” Jinta said with a grin. “Besides, I want to talk to Karin, she’s big in sports around here, she can give me some tips on who to play with!”

Urahara and Tessai exchanged a look and motioned all the group toward his and Tessai’s cars. As they walked, Yachiru, Lillinette and Karin all texted their father figures to let them know where they’d be. It was a tight fit, but Tessai had a van, so everyone managed to squeeze in. Jinta was certainly not complaining about being wedged between the wall and Karin. Yachiru sat on the other side of Karin while Lillinette and Yuzu managed to get into the middle row together. Ururu sat up in the front with Tessai. It wasn’t a long ride before they were pouring out at the ice cream place and conglomerating around a large table. The adults took up a table to themselves and let the young ones talk among themselves.

They all got their orders and sat down to talk.

“So, you guys live with your uncle?” Karin said, glancing beside her at Jinta, who she noted was sitting a bit closer than necessary. The shocking thing was she didn’t mind.

“Yeah, our mom was his sister. He took us in after our parents died in a car crash,” Jinta said, swirling his spoon in the hot fudge sundae he’d gotten.

Karin nodded. “Sorry to hear that,” she said as she licked her own spoon.

“Ah, no biggie. We were toddlers at the time, we don’t really remember them. Uncle Tessai’s been all we’ve known, right, Ururu?” Jinta said, grinning across the table at the dark haired girl who nodded.

Yuzu sighed into her ice cream, vanilla with a caramel sauce. “Yeah, its tough when your parents aren’t there when you’re growing up.”

Jinta glanced at them. “You lost your parents too?”

Karin nodded. “Just our mom. Shot in a mugging when we were five years old. Almost lost our brother too, but the guy was a bad shot,” she gave her sister a sad smile because anytime their mother came up Yuzu got emotional.

“That sucks,” Jinta said with a sigh. “At least we never knew our parents to miss them. Did they get the guy that shot her?”

Karin shook her head. “Nope. Never did find the guy. Who knows if he’s still out there or not… Did a number on our dad, though, and our brother was pretty messed up for a while. But things are better now. Been tough because our brother moved out this summer for school. But now he’s moved in with this other family and this bounty hunter…”

Jinta scrunched his brow. “What the hell?”

Karin looked up. “I guess that does sound weird, right?”

“Ichi is being stalked by _serial killers_ ,” Yachiru said seriously as she shoved a huge spoon of chocolate ice cream into her mouth.

Jinta’s eyes widened. “Really?”

Just then the door opened and Kenpachi’s huge frame shadowed the room for a second. Urahara jumped up and smiled and shook hands with him, talking rapidly for a moment about club business. Jinta stared, as did Ururu.

“Who is that?” Jinta said with a gaping expression.

“Just Yachiru’s dad,” Lillinette said, finishing her marshmallow crème covered rocky road ice cream. “He’s picking us up so I can spend the night at her house. Talk to you folks later!” she said and got up, making sure to pat Yuzu on the back and the slight blush that painted the Kurosaki twin was hard to miss.

Jinta watched them leave. “That dude is huge,” he commented.

“Yup,” Yuzu said. “He’s nice to us, though. Lillinette’s brother is cool too.”

“He took Ichigo on a couple dates, but they didn’t work out,” Karin said, nodding. “Shame, Coyote is pretty cool.”

“Ichigo is your brother?” Ururu said looking over at them.

“Yup, he should be here soon…he’s picking us up…a speaking of our brother,” Karin said, looking up as the door opened and Ichigo came in throwing an annoyed glance behind him at the blue haired man. “Eh, watch it, Yuzu, he’s in full tilt diva mode.”

Jinta cocked an eyebrow and watched. Ichigo was dressed in between at the moment. He was wearing a black kimono with sakura blossoms that just brushed below his knees and a pretty elaborate makeup set. He’d been working on learning to do his own when his dad had called to ask him to pick the girls up. He was stuck with an urgent patient at the clinic and couldn’t go get them. He was wearing his black stiletto heels, though, the first pair of shoes he grabbed because he was arguing with Grimmjow. Grimmjow had to pick up Nel and Wonderweiss because Nel’s car was in the shop. Ichigo knew it was childish, and it wasn’t really the fact that he had to hurry, it was Grimmjow’s attitude that annoyed him.

“You stay there, I’m sitting with my sisters until they’re ready to go,” Ichigo said, turning and leaving an annoyed Grimmjow standing by the doorway. He looked exasperated.

Ichigo flopped down beside Yuzu and grabbed her soda. “Stupid blue haired bastard,” he muttered as he looked everywhere except for Grimmjow.

“Trouble with your boyfriend?” Karin said, smirking.

“Bite me, Karin, bastard,” he muttered, rolling his eyes. “I’m so tired of him going everywhere I go. I swear to kami if he tries to follow me in the damned change room again at the club I’m going to kick him in the junk.”

“Don’t do that, Ichi-nii, you could hurt him like that!” Yuzu chided, slapping him playfully on the shoulder. “You shouldn’t be liked that. He’s just trying to protect you.”

Ichigo rolled his eyes. “I still don’t have to like it,” he said, pushing his hair behind his ear again. “I hate this hair growing thing, ugh, it needs to grow faster so I can pull it back, this is so damned annoying!”

“Settle down, bro,” Karin said, rolling her eyes. “I swear, you need to relax.”

Ichigo closed his eyes and sighed. “I know, but this is getting stressful. After the thing with Coyote, I swear someone was trying to mess with my head that night.”

“Did you tell Grimm-chan?” Yuzu asked.

“Hell no, he’d stick even closer to me,” Ichigo said, putting down the soda. “Anyway, he’s our ride, so I’m going to make him wait. Who’s this?” he said seeing the red headed boy by his sister.

“This is Jinta, his uncle Tessai is gonna be the cook at the club,” Karin said.

Ichigo nodded. “Hrm,” he stared at Jinta for a long time. “Better be good to her, brat, or I’ll kick your ass,” he said, standing up and motioning the girls to follow him. “Come on, I have to stick to a dumb time table with Blueberry.”

Jinta watched them leave and went over and sat down between Tessai and Urahara. Ururu joined them a moment later. “Guess we’ll see them a lot,” Urahara said.

Jinta looked at him. “Why’s that?”

“Well, the twins are in your class, and their brother is one of the drag performers at the club,” Yoruichi said with a barely contained smirk. Jinta’s face colored just a tad.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

“Fuck, go out, go to a bar, something, I’m tired of you moping,” Bambietta said at the sulking Quilge on the sofa. “If you’re sexually frustrated, go find something to fuck. I’m not dealing with your PMS.”

Quilge frowned at her and stood up and did as she said. He might as well find a gay bar or something and see if there were any needy bottoms that he could tie up and make cry. It wasn’t as though he would ever see them again when he was done with them. He found a decent looking place in short order. It was a little after six, so the place wasn’t really busy yet, so he headed to the bar and asked for a Sex on the Beach. Might as well advertise that he was looking to get someone to go with him tonight, he figured.

By the time he finished the first, he’d attracted attention of a few people, turning down at least three tops, and finally, a slight young man sat down beside him. They began to talk and Quilge began to get into subjects he normally avoided when looking to score because the guy brought up hunting, something about his dad had taken him hunting a few weeks ago, and Quilge’s coat reminded him of the one his dad wore on the trip.

“Oh I believe fully in the idea that the weak are always prey to the strong,” he said, drinking the rest of his current drink and calling for another.

The guy beside him, Rin Tsubokura was what he’d introduced himself as, nodded, a little unsure about what he was talking about. He was a short young man, mid-twenties if Quilge didn’t miss the mark, with longish brown hair. He looked uncomfortable at the turn of discussion. He smiled and nodded, saying “Um, yeah…”

“People…weaklings need to be culled. The best, strongest, and smartest are the ones that should succeed, not these weaklings and idiots that we allow to ride along the coattails of the strong,” he said, swirling the liquid in his glass. “Those weak enough to get caught by the stronger deserve their fate.”

Rin looked around for an escape, but Quilge had him in his glare. “You agree, don’t you?”

“Oh, sure, yeah, sounds right. Who in the world did you learn this from?”

He was more than a little uncomfortable. He’d mentioned hunting because it was something most people could talk about, and Quilge’s coat really did look like his dad’s coat. However, what he was talking about…it was a little off the mark from what Rin thought. His dad was a hunter, yes, but he didn’t hunt for sport. They’d been hunting an overpopulation of boar recently. Rin wasn’t much of a hunter; he really just went to spend time with his dad.

Quilge grinned. “A great man, my step-father. He raised me. My mother was a weakling. They’re all weaklings in the end before they die,” he said, the alcohol hazing his mind and making him more vocal about the subject than normal. “It takes a superior human to take control and cull the herd, you know.”

“Is…is that moral?” asked Rin realizing exactly what the guy was talking about. He knew a lot about culling the herd, that was what his father did, but this guy wasn’t talking about animals. This guy was talking about people.

“Morality is for the weak. Become strong enough and whatever you say is moral is what the weaklings follow. They don’t deserve the life they’re granted, you know…the weaklings deserve what they get…” he said, leaning over toward Rin who leaned back away from him. Rin was slightly weirded out by his close proximity and didn’t notice something drop from his hand into his glass. “Are you the hunter, or are you the prey?” he said, face inches from the other man.

Quilge sat back and looked over the bar as Rin drank the rest of his drink and shook his head. “I…I don’t know…”  

“It is a matter of superiority. Weaklings deserve to die or be enslaved by those of us who are able to do so,” Quilge said with a shrug.

After a few moments, Rin stood up, wobbling a bit on his feet and Quilge smiled to himself as the younger man headed out the door into the parking lot. Quilge lost patience as he drank, and though he usually could convince someone into his bed freely, he was also not in the mood to wait. In his pocket, he kept a handy stash of drugs. Quilge followed him just far enough away to not appear suspicious to onlookers. As they neared what was apparently Rin’s vehicle, the young man stopped to vomit in the shrubs. When he did, Quilge came up behind him. When he stood, he smiled at him.

“Are you ill?” he asked.

Rin swallowed convulsively for a moment and nodded.   “Think so…”

“Here, come on, you’re in no state to drive, dear,” he said leading him to the stolen car he’d brought to the bar earlier. He dumped the young man into the back seat and got behind the wheel and headed to a nearby hotel where he took a room for the night. He led the stumbling man into the room and dropped him on the bed.

“Hum, what…where are we?” Rin asked thickly, blinking at Quilge from his prone position on the bed. His mind wasn’t working right and he couldn’t focus for some reason.

“Just somewhere we can have a little fun, my dear,” he said, stripping off his shirt and crawling onto the bed with the now panicking brunette.   “Now, do be quiet, or I’ll gag you…and you won’t like that…” he said, beginning to pull at the struggling Rin’s clothes. With the drugs in his system though, there wasn’t a lot of strength in him.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Ichigo was dressed up again. Grimmjow was sulking again. Nel was annoyed again. It was a cycle they were doomed to repeat until her foolish brother got his head dislodged from his ass. Ever since the pair had come back from picking up Ichigo’s sisters and then coming and getting Nel and Wonderweiss from the car shop, there’d been a stiffness between them, and they weren’t talking. Nel knew it was because Grimmjow was being an ass, and Ichigo didn’t take well to being treated like a child.

“So, who’s your date with tonight?” she asked him.

Ichigo smiled, grabbing a glass of water and sipping at it carefully to not mess his lips. She had noticed he was really getting into the make up since working at the club more often. Tonight he was wearing a long black kimono with cherry blossoms on the hems of the sleeves and the edges. It was similar to the shorter version he’d worn earlier, but the other was far more casual. What he wore now would be considered nearly formal attire by some. He was wearing his geta again without tabi, having put on several toe rings and an anklet of bells. His hair had gotten long enough to pull back into a short tail if done with a clip, so he’d done that with a butterfly clip.

“Oh, one of the guys in the band, um, the main guy, Hisagi. He invited me to go to a club that opened in town this last week, so I said I’d go since it’s my night off. I don’t think it’s really a date…I mean, it’s just a club,” Ichigo said with a shy smile.

Nel smiled, seeing Grimmjow not looking in their direction at all, but she knew he was paying close attention to what was said. “Do you like him?” she asked.

Ichigo shrugged. “I don’t know him yet, so we’ll see. Might be fun, but I don’t think he’ll be the one for me, you know. Just don’t feel it. But I’ll go out with him and see. Maybe I’ll meet someone else while I’m there. Who knows!”

“Well, I hope you find someone that you care about, my dear,” she said, cutting her eyes at Grimmjow who looked away immediately. “Is grumpy going with you?”

Ichigo rolled his eyes. “If I don’t let him, he’ll follow anyway.”

Shiro came into the room, a towel around his waist and nothing else. Nel gaped. “Shiro? Are you naked in my kitchen?”

He grabbed a cookie and walked away, pulling the towel off just before he left the kitchen and giving them all a slight wiggle of his nude behind. Ichigo giggled and shook his head. Nel sighed. “He is something else…”

There was a knock at the door and Ichigo ran to answer it, smiling to see Shuuhei standing there. “Hey,” he said, smiling.

“You ready?” he asked.

“Sure, ready as I’ll ever be!” he said and Shuuhei took his hand and led him to his black sports car.

Nel watched as Grimmjow stood up and followed shortly after they left in his own car. Nel sat down at the bar and sighed as Shiro came back in, thankfully for her, dressed this time in a yukata. He flopped down and grabbed another cookie.

“What’s up, viridian?” he asked, munching on his cookie. Shiro seemed to associate everyone with colors, like his own name. He typically called her something about green, and Grimmjow blues.

“Grimmjow. Why is he such a fool?” she said with a sigh. “I mean, he’s head over heels for that boy…yet he won’t do a thing.”

Shiro nodded. They sat in silence, eating snickerdoodle cookies that Nel had made earlier that day. Wonderweiss only ate snickerdoodles, so they generally had copious amounts of the cookies in the house. It turned out Shiro also loved them, so Nel was having to bake twice as many.

“I got an idea,” he said suddenly with an evil looking grin. “If we make him jealous enough, maybe he’ll blow his stack in front of the orange head and then he’ll have to confront it.”

Nel frowned. “What do you mean? How would we do that?”

“I’ll take that challenge on, my dear. No one can flirt and be dirty like me. And honey, I play for both teams anyway, so I know how to hit that ball…” he said, standing up and heading to the couch to watch Animal Planet with Wonderweiss. As it turned out, he was just about as addicted to animal shows as the teenager was, so he had no problem sitting through hours of animal centered programming.

Nel watched them for a moment and sighed. Why was it so difficult for her brother to see love? Granted, Nel wasn’t really one to talk. She wasn’t interested in either sex, to be perfectly honest, and never had been. It had caused her no end of grief, considering she had what most considered an amazing body. It didn’t matter what her body looked like, she just really didn’t feel attraction to others. Of course, mentioning the fact she considered herself to be asexual was out of the question because no one believed her. She couldn’t understand what was so hard to understand about it, and why exactly it was anyone’s business what her sexuality was. She had Wonderweiss, and she had her career, and that was fulfilling enough. Besides, she enjoyed trying to play matchmaker for others. Somehow, she found that looking from the outside made it quite a bit easier to see the pieces of the puzzle that was love.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

“So, what’s this club like?” Ichigo asked, adjusting the kimono skirt as he sat in the car.

“It’s a fun place. A little bit underground. May not be your scene, we’ll see when we get there what you think,” he said with a smile. Ichigo wasn’t entirely sure he was keen on that statement. He really was naïve when it came to these things.

He should have guessed it wasn’t his thing when they pulled in and he felt the industrial music practically reverberating through the pavement. Then, when he got out and saw the outfits some of the patrons were in, he was beginning to think he was definitely not made for this scene. He looked at Shuuhei with wide eyes.

“Don’t worry, not everyone who comes here is into that stuff. Just a popular hangout for those that are into that stuff,” Shuuhei said, taking his hand. “I come here for the music…mostly…” Ichigo barely caught the end of what he said and he was definitely sure he was in the wrong place.

Before he could protest he was being pulled through the crowd of people in leather, chains, collars, leashes, and more…and less. He saw as a girl with a thong and a collar and nothing else walk by them. They got to the bar finally and Ichigo was clinging to Shuuhei’s arm tightly. The place was packed. He was right though, while there were a lot of people in what Ichigo guessed was bondage and fetish gear, there were plenty people in normal club clothes. He was very glad he’d worn a kimono and not something more revealing because a lot of the people here were inclined to touch more than people at Las Noches…

“Craig, gimme the usual, what about you, Ichi?” he said, smiling over at him.

Ichigo bit his lip. “Um, just a soda water…” he said quietly.

Shuuhei shook his head and called out, “He’ll take a cosmo.”

Ichigo frowned. A cosmo? He didn’t drink, let alone something that strong, but as it was sat down in front of him he knew he probably shouldn’t ignore it, since it was bought for him.   He really had to get over the idea that he had to somehow “pay” when people gave him things or bought him drinks or food.

So he sipped the drink slowly, knowing that the slower he drank it, the less likely he would have to drink another one. Shuuhei had a scotch and soda, it looked like. He turned to Ichigo and grinned. “So, what do you think?”

“Nice club, a little more…exotic than I’m used to,” he said, looking around at the people dancing closely together.

“Guess the bondage scene isn’t your thing?” he asked, looking over his glass at him.

Ichigo shook his head. “I don’t think so…seems too…rough for my liking, you know,” he said, sipping the cosmo again, but the sip turned to a near gulp as he finished it in his nervousness. The alcohol hit his system and a wave of heat shot up his body to his cheeks within moments. He blinked and looked to see another drink had replaced his empty glass. He held it and sipped it again.

“Doesn’t have to be rough, you know, it’s all consensual. Nothing happens you don’t want,” Shuuhei said with a shrug, downing his drink and tapping the bar for another.

Ichigo’s head was starting to buzz. He was beginning to think not eating earlier had been a very bad idea. He smiled at Shuuhei. “I think I’ll pass, just doesn’t seem my thing.”

Shuuhei smiled and patted his leg and winked. “You don’t know until you try it out, you know. That’s why I thought you should come see this place, I know you said you never really dated or got out. If you’ve never seen it, you can’t know if you like it right?”

Ichigo had to give him that and nodded. He sat his glass down beside him and turned to watch the dancers again until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and found himself looking at Harribel from the Hainekos. Beside her was one of the faux queens that he often did shows with, Mila Rose, if he remembered right. Both of them were dressed in normal club attire, and no fetish gear.

“Harribel, hey!” he said, smiling.

“Ichigo, goodness, how funny seeing you here of all places, I didn’t imagine this to be your scene…” she said with a half smile.

Ichigo shook his head. “His idea. I don’t think it is my scene at all…”

She smiled. “Mila digs the music here, she knows the DJ that’s on tonight, so we stopped in for a while before we headed out to dinner.”

“Ichigo, dance?” Shuuhei asked, standing up behind him.

Ichigo swallowed. He needed a little liquid courage to go out on that floor, he thought, and grabbed his drink from behind him and downed it getting a frown from Mila and Harribel. “Didn’t know you drank, hon,” Mila said. None of the other queens or kings had ever seen him drink anything even though he was free to grab anything from the bar.

“I don’t…” he said, standing and nearly tripping as Shuuhei yanked him toward the dance floor.

Okay, he thought, this is a definite one date thing. Shuuhei was too forceful for his liking. It wasn’t that he couldn’t handle him, if he really wanted to, he’d have Shuuhei on the ground in a locked hold within seconds, but it wasn’t the point. Shuuhei was obviously a bit on the dominant side, and while Ichigo appeared somewhat feminine, he wouldn’t consider himself submissive in the least, especially not in the way he was thinking.

He found himself pressed up against Hisagi in the throbbing music and decided that he most definitely did not like the crowded club scene. He felt no less than four people rub hard-ons up against his leg or ass, and it felt like Shuuhei wasn’t much better off as he was shoved into the dark haired man. And now he had to pee, but there was no way he was going in the restroom in this place, he thought. His head was spinning like crazy and unlike Las Noches, he didn’t know people here. If something happened, he’d be at a big disadvantage. Wait, why was his head spinning? He’d had, what, three drinks?

Ichigo tripped forward and fell into Shuuhei again, but this time he felt weaker than before, foggier. He heard Shuuhei say something about him not being able to hold his alcohol, and they should probably go home if he was already stumbling after two drinks. Was it two? He thought he had three… He wanted to explain something was wrong, he shouldn’t feel this weird after two drinks. Time seemed to skip a beat and he was in the sportscar watching the world speed past.

“I asked, do….wanna go back to….house?” he heard.

“Hmmm,” he muttered. “Sure, that’s good,” Ichigo said, his eyes slipping closed for a few minutes.

He woke suddenly as he was being walked on a sidewalk. He focused intently on his feet to keep his swimming head in line and he frowned because the walkway looked wrong somehow.

“Shu…what…where are we?” he muttered as the door opened and he was led to a couch and he dropped down into it. He didn’t recognize the place at all. This wasn’t Nel’s house.

“My house, remember?” he said, patting his shoulder. “I asked you if you wanted to go to my house, and you said you did.”

Ichigo groaned. He’d thought he was talking about Nel’s house, not his house. Great. Now he’d pretty much told him he was up for having sex by wanting to go home with him. He was new to dating, but he was well aware that when you went home with someone, it was assumed it was to sleep with them. Rarely did a date end with platonic talking on the other person’s sofa.

He cleared his throat to explain, but he couldn’t seem to speak loud enough and Shuuhei wasn’t in the room, he’d gone somewhere else. He had to explain he wasn’t interested in doing that…at all. He liked Shuuhei but he again, just didn’t get that spark of interest that he was looking for, especially if Shuuhei was the type to take someone and sleep with them on the first date.

Shuuhei came over and sat down beside him and pulled his face around and planted a kiss that quickly morphed into something more than a brush of lips. “Oh, wait,” Ichigo tried, pushing him away.

“Hush now, I’ll take care of you,” Shuuhei said with a smile at Ichigo’s bleary eyes.

Ichigo was feeling strung out and weird still and he had no strength when he pushed on Shuuhei’s arms. There was no way to convey he wanted him to stop. He’d basically agreed to this already, so how would he know? Something was wrong, more than alcohol, he knew, and he finally dropped both arms in sheer exhaustion from the attempt. From Shuuhei’s perspective, he was gripping his arms, holding him, nothing that would indicate he wasn’t interested in the fact he was completely ravaging the orangette’s mouth, and his hands were wandering over his torso. He wasn’t resisting, so there was no way to know that he wasn’t into the situation. Ichigo had no idea what to do, his brain was short circuiting and it wasn’t doing anything he wanted it to do. He couldn’t think straight, let alone put together enough coherence to tell Shuuhei to stop as his hand started to slide up his thigh under the kimono.

Finally he managed a whimper that sounded incredibly pathetic, and he realized he was crying. Shuuhei sat back suddenly and looked at him, frowning as he reached up and wiped away the tears that were trickling from his closed eyes.

“Ichigo?” he asked, to which Ichigo’s eyes fluttered open for a second and he tried to say something but he couldn’t make a sound this time. “Whoa, what’s wrong? Something’s wrong,” he said. He leaned over and pulled open one of his eyes. “Shit. You got fucking drugged at the club, didn’t you, and shit, I didn’t even notice, ah, this is bad…fuck…”

Just then there was a loud pounding at the door and Shuuhei jumped and went to the door, but as soon as he unlocked it, the door banged open, nearly knocking him over and he was looking a very annoyed looking blue haired bounty hunter. A bounty hunter that currently looked like he was positively murderous when he glanced at the nearly passed out orangette on Shuuhei’s couch, and back to Shuuhei.

“I didn’t know! Someone must have dropped him something at the club, I just thought he was a little tipsy and he’d be okay once we got here, and he said to come here!” he said urgently as Grimmjow moved passed him and shook Ichigo’s shoulder gently. Shuuhei didn’t think his touch would have been that gentle if Shuuhei had been the recipient of that shake.

Ichigo’s eyes fluttered and he blinked up at Grimmjow. “Grimmy? Whatchoo doin ‘ere?”

“Fuck, Ichigo, I can’t leave you alone for fifteen goddamned minutes, can I?” he said with a sigh.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Bambietta looked up as Quilge came in looking rather pleased the next morning after he disappeared. “Well?”

“I found a good lay, and had enough of those ruffies left, I followed our prey into a club on a date and dropped a dose in his drink before I snuck out,” he said, dropping into couch. “If he didn’t end up getting fucked before the night was over by his date, it would have been a miracle.”

“As long as your ass isn’t grouchy anymore. What time is it?” she asked, looking over.

Quilge glanced at his watch. “Ten am?” he said.

“Okay, I’m going out to make sure the next hit happens right. Plus, I need to get out of this stuffy hotel room. Be packed up and ready to move to the next one before I get back, got it?” she said, standing up and grabbing her bag as she left. She needed to blow off some steam literally.

She found herself wandering through a sleepy residential area of Karakura and she pulled out her lighter and her firecrackers, looking for yards with dogs or animals in them. She smiled to herself. Messing with animals had been what got her sent to the institution. She stopped at a fence where a friendly dog ran up to her. She lit a whole string of crackers and tossed them over the fence and walked away, hearing the yelp as they started to explode behind her.

That brought back memories, she thought, as she tossed another row into a yard. She made sure to put a street or more between her pranks, as she called them. She remembered quite vividly the horrified looks on her classmates faces when she nearly blew up a stray dog with firecrackers as a child. The look on their faces was nearly as good as the act itself. She caught sight of a tool shed with some brush nearby and tossed the last of her fun firecrackers into the brush, watching with satisfaction as it caught fire quickly and spread to the small shed. As she walked away she heard screams and people frantically yelling for help. It wouldn’t spread, she knew, the shed was surrounded by a deep flower bed. Still, watching the people scramble to put it out was more fun than she’d had since the last cross dressing freak they’d tortured to death. She couldn’t wait for this one.

She looked down at her phone.

_Done. Locks are all busted, windows all broken. Made sure to rearrange the place._

She smiled. _Good. Get out of there, I’m calling the police anonymously._

She punched the number for the police line. “Karakura Town precinct, can I help you?” came the dull voice on the other end.

“Oh my gosh, please, I heard something and I think that nice man Kurosaki’s clinic got broken into with the smashed windows I saw!” she said in a hysterical sounding voice.

“Please hold ma’am,” the voice said and she turned off the phone, and tossed it in the nearby bin. She shoved her hands in her pockets and headed back to the motel so they could find their next place for the night.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Ichigo woke with a monstrous headache. He groaned and made his way to the bathroom. He couldn’t really remember much from last night other than not really liking the scene, then everything got fuzzy. He looked in the mirror and he looked horrible. He blinked and headed down to the kitchen where Grimmjow was sitting at the bar with Shiro.

“How are you this morning?” Grimmjow asked, a frown creasing his forehead.

“I feel like death, what…what happened?” he asked, rummaging in the kitchen cabinet for the aspirin.

Grimmjow shook his head. “You got ruffied, that’s what happened.”

Ichigo paused with the cup almost to his lips. “What? I was with Shuuhei, he wouldn’t…” he said, his eyes widening at the thoughts spinning through his head.

“No, we have no idea who did it. Shuuhei thought you just got really tipsy and he asked if you wanted to go back to his place and you told him you did. He assumed you were into it, until he realized you weren’t. I got there about that time. I’d lost you two in the crowd and by the time I got outside you were gone. You weren’t answering the phone, and you hadn’t gone to Nel’s so I went to his place,” Grimmjow said. “You were out of it. He helped me get you to the car, then Shiro helped me get you in here and to the bed.”

Just then, Grimmjow’s phone rang and so did Shiro’s. Both took them and left Ichigo alone at the bar. He put his head in his hands and sighed deeply. He wished Wonderweiss was home so he wasn’t alone right then.

It didn’t take long before both Grimmjow and Shiro came back in looking more concerned than before. “Ichigo, they were there, at least one of them was, last night.”

Ichigo frowned and looked up. “What?”

“I took a blood sample last night to make sure you weren’t given anything really dangerous and had Shiro take it in. They had a guy come into the ER this morning that had been beaten up pretty good and couldn’t remember what happened to him. Turns out he was ruffied with the same thing, same chemical composition and everything. The guy he described that drugged him and assaulted him matches one of the guys we’re after,” Grimmjow said with a serious look.

Ichigo shook his head. “But…why drug me and then just leave?”

Shiro rolled his eyes at the young man’s nativity. “Because you were on a date with a guy in a bondage club, and said guy was also obviously attracted to you. Shuuhei almost had sex with you without realizing you weren’t with it enough to tell him no. That was the point.”

“Rape by proxy?” Ichigo said with a frown. “Fuck…” he muttered.

“There’s more,” Shiro said, looking over at Grimmjow. “My call was about your family.”

Ichigo frowned and looked up urgently. “What about them?”

“This morning, about ten thirty, there was an anonymous cell call reporting that there was a broken window at the clinic. You sisters were at school already, and your dad is on at the hospital today helping Ryuken Ishida. Every window was busted out in the clinic and the house, and all the locks were broken on every door, even the ones on the interior of the house,” Shiro said with a sigh.

Ichigo’s stomach turned and he jumped to his feet and ran to the downstairs bathroom and threw up. He hadn’t eaten since the day before, so it was nothing but bile. He kneeled there dry heaving into the toilet for a good fifteen minutes before he sat back against the wall. Grimmjow was standing in the doorway.

“You might feel sick for today,” he told him.

“Why?” he said quietly, looking down into his hands as they rested in his lap.

Grimmjow crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe. “Why what?”

Ichigo looked up and Grimmjow was caught by the lost look in his eyes. “Why me? I mean, why did they decide to do this to me? And now they’re messing with my family, and no one seems to know how to even find these people. I just…I just learned how to live, and now I might die?”

Grimmjow swallowed and tried not to let his own emotions overflow. “Look, we’re going to get them. Everyone is trying, and no one has ever been this close before. We’re always too late, but we aren’t too late this time. We can stop this.”

Ichigo nodded, his head pounding behind his eyes. How could explain that this wasn’t about him? If he was killed, if he were to die, it would destroy his sisters. He wasn’t worried about himself, it was them. His father had already lost their mother; he wouldn’t be able to take another loss like that. He almost hadn’t recovered from his mother’s death. He let his head fall into the tile behind his head and sighed deeply.

After a moment he turned his head and looked at Grimmjow and smirked. “I don’t think I’m going on anymore dates.”


	10. March of the Cicadas

Ichigo’s day did not improve. After throwing up in the bathroom, he had a horrible headache. He flopped on the couch with a huffing sigh and turned on the TV to some soap opera that he had little to no interest in. Before long he yelped as he felt someone flop down right beside him. He blinked and saw Shiro sitting there with a smirk.

“Hey, Ichi-babe, what’s up?” he said, snaking an arm around his back. Ichigo’s skin prickled at the contact.

“Headache, probably from that stuff last night. Still can’t get over this crap, I mean, seriously, if Hisagi hadn’t figured it out, or Grimmjow hadn’t shown up…I mean I can’t imagine how horrible he would have felt if he’d done something and then found out I’d been drugged. He’s already sent me three text messages apologizing, you know. He feels like shit about the whole thing,” Ichigo said with a sigh, dropping his head back on the couch.

“He should feel like shit,” Grimmjow said, walking into the room and sitting on the opposite sofa. “Fuckin’ idiot if he didn’t realize you’d been ruffied.”

“Grimm, he couldn’t have known, I mean, I drank two cosmos or maybe three, I don’t know, and I don’t drink at all normally, so he just thought I was drunk…” he said.

“No excuse, Ichigo. He took you out to a bondage club without even asking if you were interested, that was the first thing he did wrong. He didn’t watch out for you while you were there, that was the second, and worst, when you weren’t into the scene, he didn’t leave. I’m sorry, but he did not have your best interests in mind, he just wanted a quick fuck, and that’s almost what he got,” he said, his eye narrowing at Ichigo.

Ichigo’s mouth hung open for a minute and he wanted to say something. But what could he say? Essentially, Grimmjow was right. Except about the sex thing, Ichigo really didn’t think that’s what Hisagi was after, but that was not the point. Ichigo was the one that had nearly gotten date raped by someone who didn’t even mean to do it, not Grimmjow! What was he so damned upset over the situation for? He frowned at him.

“Look, leave him alone, he’s as much a victim as I am, Grimmjow. He had no idea. And it wasn’t a bondage club, even Harribel and Mila Rose were there listening to the DJ because Mila Rose was friends with him. Hisagi said he went there for the music. It wasn’t his fault the stupid people who want to kill me decided to be there anyway,” he said, crossing his arms with a pout.

Grimmjow bristled. “Ichigo, do you want to know what happened to the other guy that got drugged last night?” he said, leaning forward.

Shiro bit his lip. He didn’t like were Grimmjow was going, and he wasn’t sure if he really should tell Ichigo the details about the other kid. But he didn’t say anything, just waited for the inevitable explosion that he knew was coming.

“You said he got beat up,” Ichigo said petulantly, turning to stare at the TV with his arms crossed tightly over his chest.

“No, he didn’t just get beat up. The guy raped him. Badly. Ichigo, these people are seriously out to hurt you and if you don’t start taking it seriously…” he started.

Ichigo’s eyes flashed and he glared at Grimmjow. “You don’t think I’m taking this seriously? You don’t think I know this? I’m not stupid! I mean, I’m no big bad ass bounty hunter that’s traveled all over the goddamned world, but I’m not dumb! _I get it._ Okay? I fucking get it! But what do you want me to do? Give up on my life and sit here alone all day? I can’t do that Grimmjow! I can’t let them take everything that I away from me, that’s worse than death!”

He stood up and stormed out of the room and up the stairs slamming the door. Both Shiro and Grimmjow flinched. “Boy, if I didn’t know he was gay already, I’d know it now. Damn, he turns into a pissy little bitch when he’s mad,” Shiro said thoughtfully.

Grimmjow looked at him and started to say something but sighed instead, flopping backward into the sofa. Well, that had gone worse than he could have ever imagined. He hadn’t meant to get so angry. He wasn’t angry with Ichigo, and really, he wasn’t even angry at Hisagi. Hisagi, poor bastard, he had bad judgment, and knowing Ichigo has he had come to know him over the short time he’d known him, knew that Ichigo would have put a stop to things in a heartbeat. He hadn’t been able because the bastards had got to him. No, Grimmjow was pissed at himself because he’d been there and it still happened. The truth was, Grimmjow still blamed himself for Hana’s death, and in a way, he was blaming himself for every incident Ichigo had to go through. If he was a better bounty hunter, this wouldn’t happen…

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Jinta started school the next day with his new friends. He was actually looking forward to school since he knew someone for a change. He ended up in the same class with Lillinette, Yuzu and Karin, actually, having tested high himself on the entrance testing. They had spent their breaks talking and they said they’d introduce him to Wonderweiss at lunch. He asked who he was, and the girls just grinned at him. Jinta wasn’t sure he liked that look he was getting. At lunch they led him out to a higher place in the yard and everyone sat down and started unpacking their lunches when Jinta felt a presence behind him. He turned and looked up to see a blond haired boy with wide violet eyes staring at him unblinking. He was somewhat normal looking, only having an overbite to distinguish him from your average teenager. Jinta moved back a little and stared in return.

“The cicadas are going to come out today. There will be a lot of them. They’ll start calling in a few minutes, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the movement by those students over by those trees sent a whole group of them flying in our direction because the wind is blowing this way,” he told Jinta in a very serious tone and still staring at him.

Jinta frowned and glanced at the girls who were smiling at him and trying not to laugh, it seemed.

“Jinta, this is Wonderweiss, our friend. He knows a ton of stuff about a lot of things. He tested first in our class this term,” Karin said, hiding her snickers behind her hand at Jinta’s wide eyed reaction to Wonderweiss’s stare.

“Wonderweiss, he’s okay, he’s our friend now,” Yuzu said, patting the ground beside her.

“Okay, Yuzu,” he said, looking to her and then sitting down to pull out his lunch box. Jinta stared for a while before looking back to Karin for a moment then shrugged, sitting down between Wonderweiss and Karin and pulling out his lunch.

“Dude, thanks for the warning on the bugs, I’ll eat quick so I don’t get any bug parts in my food,” he said, digging into his bento box and watching the trees for any sign they were going to be overrun with cicadas so he could cover it.

Karin smiled because this had a been a bit of a test. The three girls had decided that his reaction to Wonderweiss would determine what they thought about him.

So, it was that Jinta easily joined their crowd. He hovered around Karin after he was done eating, though, and never missed an opportunity to tease or poke her. It was really amusing because he took every chance he could to touch her in some fashion, and she did the same, even if it meant punching or kicking each other. Lillinette, likewise, had taken to sitting and initiating conversation with Yuzu every chance she got. Of course, Yuzu didn’t notice it, but Karin did. And Karin didn’t notice the extra attention she was getting from Jinta, but Yuzu did. And Wonderweiss? He noticed both of them.

There was a sudden burst of cicadas calling near them and Wonderweiss looked up from the cicada shell he was holding. He’d found it on a nearby tree he’d been looking at while the others were roughhousing over Jinta trying to get a book away from Karin and failing.

“The cicada population will be unusually large this summer,” he said. “Our cicadas are the species called _Tanna japonensis.”_

“I don’t damn well care what they are but they make a horrible racket!” came the voice of one of their friendly neighborhood bullies. Karin rolled her eyes and Jinta gave her a questioning look, crossing his arms and staring.

Wonderweiss looked at him passively, standing and dusting off his knees. “They only call when the temperature changes, or like now, as it gets cloudy and cooler.”

“Don’t care, stupid. They’re a nuisance. They’re loud and obnoxious. And gross,” Daniel said with a shiver.

“It’s not like they hurt you,” Karin said. “Teachers are always telling us just to leave them alone and not to worry about them,” she said, finally giving Jinta his book back.

Kenamaru rolled his eyes. “Oh, you think so, pussy licker?”

Jinta frowned and glanced at Karin, seeing her ears go red with anger. “I don’t get why you have the gall to assume something about me, Ken. You don’t know shit about me.”

“I know you have a pussy brother, and that’s enough,” Ken said, crossing his arms.

Jinta saw her go even redder and blinked. Oh boy, he thought, reaching out and touching her shoulder. “You fucking leave my brother out of this,” she practically growled.

“Should really call his prissy ass a sister, you know?” Daniel added, snickering behind his hands. “What’s it like to have no real men in your family? Does he even have a dick worth mentioning or is that why he turned gay, because he’s got a tiny little prick so he decided he was better off taking a cock up the ass?”

Karin was about to say something when Ken shrieked. They all turned to look. A cicada had landed on his shoulder and he was staring at it like it was going to eat him.

“Get it off me, get it off me!” he screamed, hopping around and yelling.

Wonderweiss looked. “I wouldn’t do that, you’re going to disturb the rest of them in the trees here…” he said thoughtfully, hearing the subtle rustling from the cicadas in the trees that were being disturbed steadily by the noise and motion.

Before long another one landed on the boy’s arm and he shrieked again, slapping them away. Wonderweiss looked at his friends. “You might turn to face that way to make sure they don’t hit you in the face as they go by,” he said, turning to face the direction he knew they were going to fly.

Not two seconds later, a cloud of calling cicadas came out of the very trees they were standing near, rolling over the group. Karin, Yuzu, Lillinette and Jinta had taken Wonderweiss’s advice and turned away from them as they passed and got tickled by their wings, but nothing more. Ryu, Ken and Daniel, however, were busy screaming and yelling, ending up with a face full of wings and bugs, their transluscent wings beating a steady rhythm on the air as they went past.

One landed on Wonderweiss and he held his hand up and stared at it with a soft smile. “Hello, fellow. I don’t know why they don’t like your call, I think it is beautiful, you know. Your call happens before sunrise, and I often hear you at twilight or just after sunset, or like today with the clouds. Your call changes with the temperature along with the rate of fire of your tymbal nerve. You are one of my favorite creatures,” he said with a smile as the beautiful green and black creature flew off with the others.

They looked over to see the three boys spitting and coughing and it appeared that Daniel had thrown up during the incident. Wonderweiss looked back at his friends. “I told them to turn around.”

“Shut up!” screamed Ryu. “Stupid fuckers and your retard friend!”

Jinta crossed his arms and snickered. “Yeah, you guys are the ones that look stupid, so whatever, man,” he said.

Ryu stood up and there was a teacher coming their direction. One of the students had seen Daniel get sick and went after someone. All three suddenly realized that everyone was staring at them. Half the students were looking at them with disgust, and about the other half was trying to avoid getting in trouble by laughing at them. All three boys colored and glared at Wonderweiss.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Wonderweiss said, letting the cicada fly off his finger. “I told you you were going to disturb them, and I told you to turn the other way when they flew by.”

The teacher got there just about the time Ryu lunged forward toward Wonderweiss to hit him. The teacher, one Karin was unfamiliar with, grabbed him by the arm and stared at him, and before long, all three boys were escorted to the office to be dealt with. More than one student had witnessed the incident and the bullying that the group had been subjected to by the three boys. Wonderweiss was just happy to have seen the cicadas fly around him.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

                “Are you going to mope all day?” Uryuu asked Ichigo as he walked past him into the fitting room. He was waiting for Findorr and Emilou to get there.

                Ichigo glared at him. “Yes.”

                “Okay, look, I understand why you’re upset, but why are you mad at Grimmjow?” he said, pulling out a large dress back and a suit bag and hanging them on the two change room doors.

                Ichigo snorted. “Because he’s being an ass.”

                Uryuu shook his head and started to say something but Findorr and Emilou came into the room then. Findorr was wearing his usual attire, a smart pleated skirt and a plain white blouse, and his fiancée was wearing a pair of jeans and a band t-shirt.

                “I put the suit on the left room, your dress on the right, get changed and I’ll do the fitting, my dears,” he said, waving them on.

                “When’s their wedding?” Ichigo asked.

                “A couple months away, so we’ll have one more fitting before it happens. I just got the suit and the dress finished yesterday so I want to see what they look like,” Uryuu said with a smile. “I haven’t finished the bridesmaid or groomsman outfits yet. I’m not sure who’s wearing what because they haven’t picked their wedding party yet,” Uryuu said slightly louder than necessary.

                Emilou came out first, a beautifully tailored black suit with a light blue waistcoat and a deep pink cumberbund. Her tie matched the cumberbund perfectly. The pieces of the suit were edged with the light blue color and there was a pinstripe down the outside seam of the trousers to match. Uryuu stood her on the pedestal and adjusted the front around her breasts and tucked in the area around her shoulders which needed to be brought in a bit. The pants needed a little adjustment. Just as he was done, the other door opened and Findorr came out in his dress.

                Ichigo gaped. It was stunning on the slender blonde. Uryuu ushered him onto the pedestal and told Emilou she could change to her regular clothes if she wanted. Findorr’s dress was long sleeved with a sweetheart neckline. It was made of a satin material with intricate embroidery over the bodice and down the front to a point and down each side. The sleeves tapered into a ring that attached to his middle finger that revealed an intricate open embroidery patter on the backs of his hands.The train was long and intricately embroidered.

                “What do you think?” Uryuu asked, pulling on material where it would need to be taken in and let out.

                “I’m speechless,” Findorr said. “Did you do this all by hand?”

                Uryuu snorted. “Of course I did, how else would it get there?”

                Findorr looked at Ichigo with a wide eyed glance. “Uryuu, you realize that something this fancy costs like thousands of dollars, right?”

                Uryuu shrugged, mumbling around a couple pins in his teeth, “You’re my friend, Findorr, I want your wedding to be perfect, and besides, no one else can do a dress for you the way I can,” he said with a grin. “Just have to tell me how many dresses and suits I have yet to make for the wedding party…”  
                Findorr nodded. “We’re asking people in two weeks. We’ve got a short list that we’re narrowing it down to now.”

                “Don’t put it off too long, please,” Uryuu said, shaking his head as he continued the fitting. Ichigo watched as Emilou came out and kissed his hand lightly. That was what he wanted, he thought to himself. He wanted to have someone like that. Always and forever. Of course, he had to avoid being murdered first. With that though, his bleak mood returned and his nausea with it.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Isshin hadn’t been on a proper date in years. He straightened the tie for the fifteenth time as Karin came into the bathroom and stared at his reflection in the mirror.

“Lookin’ good, pop, where ya headed? Down to the club again?” she asked, sipping a can of juice as she watched him.

He shook his head. “I’m going on a date.”

Karin’s eyes bulged. “What? With who?” she asked.

“Rangiku Matsumoto, she’s the woman that owns and runs the Hainekos,” he said with a decisive nod as he straightened the suit jacket.

Karin blinked. “The chick with the humongous breasts? Way to go, goat face,” Karin said with a frown and nod as she walked out.

Isshin started to say something but sighed. It wasn’t worth it. Just then the doorbell rang and he rushed downstairs just as Yuzu opened it.

“Hello, dear,” Rangiku said with a smile to Yuzu.

“Oh hi, aren’t you from the club?” she asked, looking her over.

“I am, Rangiku Matsumoto, I’m the head of the Hainekos troupe,” she said with a smile.

Isshin stopped and stared. It was amazing. He’d seen the woman in pasties and a thong and nothing else already, so why would he be so amazed at seeing her clothed? She was wearing a straight black dress that fell to her ankles. The neckline was a halter style with a heart cut into it at the collarbone and exposing just a tad bit of her cleavage. She was wearing a silvery shawl to cover her arms and carrying a small silver colored clutch. She wore a pair of silvery grey kitten heels with it and a lot less make up than he’d ever seen her in on the stage. It was simply stunning, Isshin thought as he smiled at her.

“Rangiku!” he said with a smile. “You’re a bit early!” he said.

“Ah, yes, Harribel is in a terrible hurry to pick up Miss Mila Rose. I told her you would probably be ready, and I was right!”

Isshin smiled. “Girls, I’ll be home late, get to bed on time, please,” he said, waving at them. Karin and Yuzu watched him go with a grin. Both of them were very happy to see him happy again.

After a short ride in Harribel’s car to pick up Mila Rose, they arrived at a nice restaurant. Isshin hadn’t been to this particular one before, but it was an Italian place with a very lovely old renaissance Italy theme to it with high ceilings and beautiful tablecloths. They were seated immediately and he went over the menu. Isshin had met Mila Rose at the club, but she had been dressed in her over the top faux queen outfit. Now, she was wearing a smart pleated skirt and a ruffled blouse. Harribel was also dressed quite differently, sporting a long white sleeveless dress with an open back that contrasted with her tan skin beautifully.

“So Harribel, how long have you lived in Japan?” Isshin said, looking across the table at the buxom blonde.

“Too long,” she said with a smile. “I’d love to go back and visit Hawaii, though. I miss it sometimes,” she said, sipping her wine thoughtfully.

Mila Rose’s dark eyes settled on Harribel intently. “What do you miss most?”

Harribel looked away for a moment. “The surf. It was so much better on the islands. But I also miss the island hopping trips and seeing the volcanic activity. It is so amazing to stand and watch as inches from you there’s molten lava running and cooling as the air and the water hit it. It reminds you forcefully of the fleeting nature of our lives and how the earth will be here forever, even after we’re all gone…”

Mila Rose was enraptured as she watched Harribel talk and Isshin smiled over to Rangiku. They both knew that the faux queen was completely smitten. Hopefully, someone that was involved in the Las Noches life would yield a better result for Harribel after the debacle that had been Candy.

They listened as Harribel went on telling them about what it had been like growing up on the beaches, and how things were different there than in Japan. When dinner came, they all quieted long enough to eat and then Harribel smiled at Isshin.

“So, doctor, how are things for you?” she asked.

“Oh good,” he said. “Feels weird being out like this, I don’t think I’ve been out to dinner in years.”

“Matsumoto said that you and dating had a bad relationship,” Harribel said, sipping her wine and glancing between them.

“Oh gosh, yes. I swear, I quit after I got tired of the money questions. People hear ‘doctor’ and think I must make money like crazy. I disappoint them with the amount of free work I do,” he said, shaking his head and drinking his own wine.

“I think it’s wonderful, Isshin,” Rangiku said with a smile. “I think the fact that you give your time to the people that need it is much better than a lot of money.”

Isshin smiled as they brought a shared desert for them, a beautiful plate of cannoli. They enjoyed the sweet and then left the place, quite satisfied with the experience. They dropped Mila Rose off first, Harribel lingering at the doorstep for a long moment before she returned to the car to drop Isshin off. Rangiku walked to the door with him.

She smiled at him for a moment. “I had a nice time, Isshin,” she said finally.

“So did I,” he said with a like smile. “I haven’t been out in a long time where I felt so comfortable and like I could be myself, not since Masaki.”

Rangiku shifted uncomfortably. “Look, I don’t know if I should mention this or not, but I have to for my own heart’s safety, you know? I…I can’t compete with your wife, you know, I’ve dated widowers before, and…competing with a ghost for your affection is something I can’t do.”

Isshin started to say something then stopped and nodded. “Yeah, I understand that. Masaki was my first love, Rangiku. She always will be that. But no one would be angrier with me than her if I were to stay alone and unhappy the rest of my days. And she would come back and haunt me if I ever let go of someone who I could love because I was stuck in the past. Masaki always said to move forward, and that’s what I intend to do,” he said, taking one of her hand gently. “I’m not a young man, but I’m not old either. And I want to have someone after my girls are gone, someone to share my life with. And if you want, maybe we could try it out for a while. The girls like you, and Ichigo does too. That’s enough for me, you know?” he said, smiling now at her.

He was startled when his phone rang and he looked down to see the caller ID say Shinji. He frowned and put it to his ear. “Hello?” he said, hoping something bad hadn’t happened to Ichigo…again.

“Dr. Kurosaki?” Shinji asked, and the nervousness in his tone was enough to sit Isshin on edge.

“Yes, is there something you need?” he asked, meeting Rangiku’s worried eyes.

“Um, yeah, nothing serious, don’t worry, we’d just like you to come down if you could and check on Ichigo, if you can, he’s had a bit of an incdent…”

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Ichigo was not missing out on his night at Las Noches. Tonight was another Kirikaze night, and Hisagi would be there, but he would not avoid him. He was not going to let these people change his life without a fight. Shiro had become his escort along with Grimmjow, and occasionally one of the Las Noches security would tag along with him. He wanted to tell them to shove off, but some part of him that was desperately scared screamed that he didn’t want them to leave him alone for even a minute.

Shiro was walking beside him when he bumped into him. “Oh sorry ‘bout that, love,” he said with a grin and Ichigo knew he definitely had done that on purpose. He saw Grimmjow’s eyes flash over at him and back in front of them.

“So, bluebird here said that you swore off dating,” Shiro said as they got into the back room and Ichigo started picking his costume for the skit he was doing with one of the faux queens named Chizuru and Tatsuki tonight.

“Definitely not going out anywhere anytime soon,” he said with a shrug as he pulled out a red sequined evening gown. It was a skit where he was playing the “other woman” and Chizuru was the jilted wife married to Tatsuki. Ggio was playing the waitress in the scene, and at the end, Ichigo was supposed to get up, kiss Ggio and walk off with “her”, leaving the other two to argue.

“Well, sugar, how about I take you on an in house date and make ya dinner,” Shiro said with a wink at him.

Ichigo peeked around the screen and frowned. “Shiro, did you just ask me on a date?”

“Sure thing, love. I’d take ya out, but well, we see how that went. So just keep your sweet little ass at home and fatten you up with my amazing cooking skills, what do ya say, huh?” he said, leaning back and crossing his legs with a smirk.

Ichigo came out and stared at him then shook his head. “Do me,” he said, turning and gesturing to his back.

“Oh, is that an invitation, sweetheart?” Shiro said stepping forward and slowly zipping the dress. “Cuz I’d gladly grant _that_ wish.”

Ichigo turned and glared at him. “Shiro! Stop it! I know you’re a pervert, but jeeze!”

Shiro shrugged. “I just ask for what I want, ya know. If ya never ask, ya never get,” he said and with a lightning fast move landed a quick peck on Ichigo’s cheek.

Ichigo gasped and stepped back, blushing bright red to his roots and scurried out of the room to makeup as Shiro followed with his usual easy swagger. Grimmjow glared after him and growled under his breath as he followed as well. If his steps were heavier than normal the rest of the night, no one bothered to mention it.

The skit was going well. Grimmjow was standing behind the curtain watching from the side, and Shiro was out in the audience, keeping an eye out for trouble there. The scene was pretty simple, Ichigo and Tatsuki were seated with Ggio serving them, and everything was fine until Ggio returned with their drinks. Ichigo blinked as he stared at the two martini glasses that he sat down. They were filled with water, of course, but there was an instant his guts twisted in a very unpleasant way.

“That be all?” he asked.

“Sure, that’s fine,” Tatsuki said and then Chizuru rushed up to the table and started arguing with Tatsuki about cheating on her. Ichigo was still staring at the martini glasses. He couldn’t take his eyes off them, and skipped a couple lines but Tatsuki and Chizuru continued on, not really able to wait for him. He blinked finally and stood up, knocking the chair back, catching the attention of both Chizuru and Tatsuki.

“Babe, babe, are you okay?” Tatsuki asked. It was a deviation from the lines, but it was close enough that it didn’t matter.

Ichigo shook his head, the blonde wig shifting a bit as he rubbed his hand over his forehead. Tatsuki exchanged a glance at Chizuru. Ichigo took a step backward and started to say something but a wave of dizziness crashed over him and the world began to edge in black for a moment before he felt a horrible swirling sensation and succumbed to the blackness threatening to overtake him.

Chizuru and Tatsuki were silent for a moment after he fell forward. Grimmjow and Shiro didn’t react; after all, he was in a skit. Then Tatsuki looked directly at Grimmjow.

“Grimmjow, help!” she said and Grimmjow ran onto the stage where she was rolling Ichigo to his back, the wig sliding off as she did it. Grimmjow kneeled and pulled up one of his eyelids and realized he was completely out.

“Shit,” he muttered and heard pounding feet beside him and saw Shiro running up the outer stairs onto the stage, following close behind as he took off through the curtain with him. Shinji was on the other side and led them to the break room where he laid him on the couch.

“What happened?” he asked, nervously as Ggio, Tatsuki and Chizuru came into the room with worried expressions.

“I don’t know, he just passed out cold on stage,” Tatsuki said. “He was acting strange at first, though, so I don’t know if it had something to do with yesterday…”

Shinji frowned. “Yesterday? What happened yesterday?”

Tatsuki opened her mouth and then looked at Chizuru. “Um, you weren’t told about it?”

“About what?” Shinji said, a hard line creasing his face as he glared at Grimmjow who was sitting beside the sofa.

“I forgot to call you, Shinji, with everything that went on…I honestly didn’t think of it. Tatsuki and Ichigo were talking before the show and I didn’t see you before we came in with him,” he said with a sigh.

“What exactly happened?” Shinji asked, looking between Shiro and Grimmjow.

“Ichigo had a date with Shuuhei. He took him to this new club, and I guess it’s this hangout for a lot of fetish people, and well, Ichigo wasn’t into it, and was obviously nervous about it, so Shuuhei bought him a drink, and Ichigo doesn’t drink, Shuuhei knew that, so when he got drunk looking after drinking two, Shuuhei didn’t think about it, and asked him if he wanted to go back to his place…I guess Ichigo had said okay. Well, long story short, he’d been ruffied…and Shuuhei almost didn’t realize it in time.” Shiro shrugged after the explanation.

Shinji frowned. “And where were you?” he asked Grimmjow.

Grimmjow’s brows arched. “I was with him, but they disappeared into the crowd because the place was packed, then they were gone. I got to Shuuhei’s a few minutes later.”

Shinji didn’t say a word, just turned and left. Those that knew him knew that it meant he was very angry, so much so he doubted his own control. Leaving was his only option at that point. Chizuru looked at Tatsuki. “We should go…” she said and they both left, leaving Shiro and Grimmjow there.

Ggio moved forward and glanced at them. “Talk to him,” Shiro said. “I think he could use it.”

Shiro turned and left then, headed to go see if he could talk to Shinji. Grimmjow sat on the other side of the room, dropping his head into his hands. He was failing. Miserably.

Ichigo came around a minute later and looked up to see Ggio sitting by him. “Ggio, what…where…” he said, sitting up suddenly.

“In the back, you passed out on stage. What happened?” he asked, putting a hand on his wrist to stop him from leaving.

Ichigo shook his head and pulled his knees up to his chest to rest his chin on. “Goddamned glasses.”

Ggio turned his head. “The martini glasses? From the skit?”

Ichigo nodded. “Last night, Shuuhei bought me cosmos. They came in the same glasses. I have no idea what happened, I just couldn’t stand it. I went to stand up and get off the stage, and it all went sideways.”

Ggio nodded. “Ichigo, I need to tell you something,” he said, untying the tiger print scarf.

Ichigo stared at him. “See this?” Ggio said, lifting his head and point to the pale, uniform and straight scars. “Reconstructive surgery. You see, I know who it is that’s after you really well, the same people that did this to me. I was the only survivor they left behind.”

Ichigo frowned and shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

“See, I was a diplomat’s kid in Madrid, partied all the time, hit the club scene pretty hard. And then strange stuff started happening. Weird phone calls, odd text messages, and just all sorts of stuff that didn’t make sense. Then one night someone knocked me out and I woke up tied in a basement looking at this man and woman. They told me I was going to break for them, and I would be begging them to hurt me and thanking them for the pain. I told them I wouldn’t. And I didn’t, Ichigo, so they left me alive, dying but alive, instead of killing me like the other ones. I didn’t give them what they wanted and they couldn’t stand it,” he said. “My face was unrecognizable, and they broke all the bones in my hands and arms, and it took a couple years of surgeries to fix it. My fingers go numb still now and then still from nerve damage. But, I’m alive. That’s what matters, so whatever happens, stay strong and don’t let them break you. Don’t give them what they want.”

Ggio got up and patted him on the hand. “I can’t tell you anything else. I’ll be here if you need to talk, but all I can say is that you just have to never give in to them.”

Ichigo watched him leave and sighed. He looked up and saw Grimmjow sitting over on the other side. “Grimm?” he said quietly.

Grimmjow looked up and frowned at him. “What is it, Ichigo?”

“Can you…sit with me…maybe?” he asked, biting his lip.

Grimmjow nodded. “Yeah, I can,” he said, standing and moving to sit down beside the orangette who immediately leaned into him and sat there quietly until the door opened and Shinji came in with Ichigo’s father.


	11. In Times of Madness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited 5-28-14

The mind is a fragile thing in all reality. There are so many things in the world that can alter the state of consciousness and the state of sanity. Ichigo was quickly finding that those lines were blurring rapidly in his mind as he swore he heard someone whisper his name in the dark. He was alone, and he knew he was alone, and he was in Nel’s house, and perfectly safe. After passing out on stage, he’d gone home and slept ten straight hours, much to Nel’s worry.   However, that night was karaoke night at Las Noches, something that only came around on the first Tuesday of the month, and Ichigo knew his sisters were going to be there to perform something. He looked at the clock. It was two in the afternoon. Wow, he thought. It had been nearly four before he finally fell asleep the night before.

He slowly got out of bed and made his way down the stairs to see who was up. It was Tuesday, so he knew Nel and Wonderweiss would be gone. Nel had work and Wonderweiss had school. He guessed Shiro and Grimmjow would be downstairs, since he didn’t see either of them upstairs. He tightened the yukata he was wearing and padded barefoot down the stairs and saw the Grimmjow and Shiro were sitting at the breakfast bar looking over some files. They snapped them shut when he came into the doorway. He found that incredibly annoying. It wasn’t like he couldn’t handle what they were looking at.

“Hey,” he said, walking in and rummaging in the fridge for some leftover riceballs from the night before.

“Feelin’ okay today, Ichi-babe?” Shiro asked, turning around and looking at him. “Scared the shit outta us last night.”

Ichigo sighed. “I’m fine, was stupid,” he said with a sigh, grabbing the plate with a few rice balls and sitting at the bar with the two other men. “Don’t know what came over me,” he said with a sigh. “But I’m good now. Can’t wait for tonight,” he said, smiling and nibbling thoughtfully on the food.

Grimmjow’s eyes snapped to him. “Tonight?” he asked.

Ichigo nodded, glancing over at him. He could sense it was going to be a fight already. “Yeah, its karaoke night and both my sisters are going to be singing, and so Wonderweiss, remember?”

“You aren’t going,” Grimmjow said sternly, putting his files into his briefcase quickly without looking up at him.

Shiro visibly winced. He’d been around enough to know that you did _not_ tell Ichigo what he wasn’t going to do. He knew that Grimmjow was about to get an earful from one very irate young man. Ichigo slowly put down his rice ball and stared hard at Grimmjow.

“What did you say?” he asked, arching one orange brow at the blue haired man across from him.

“I said you aren’t going, are you deaf or are you really this stupid? You passed out in the middle of performance last night, there’s obviously more to what’s happening than you admit. You need to stay here where I can keep an eye on you, where its safe, and where no one can get to you easily. You’re putting yourself in danger, and obviously, it is having an effect on you,” Grimmjow said, leaning back and crossing his arms, both cerulean eyes locked on the orangette across the table.

Ichigo was known for having tight control on his anger. Lately, though, he’d had it with everything. “I am going, and you are not going to stop me. I already told you, these people aren’t going to ruin my life. If I give up doing what I love, then they win. I’ve told you that.”

Grimmjow frowned deeper. “You are taking it too lightly again, Ichigo! You need to be aware…”

“I’m fucking aware! Goddammit, Grimm, I am well aware of the goddamned danger I’m in! You aren’t the one who puts up with these people and their goddamned mind games. You don’t get the text messages, the hang up calls, the random emails of horrible pictures and how they want to do those things to you. You don’t have to keep changing your numbers and contact information. You don’t wonder if you are losing your goddamned mind every time you turn around when you hear your name and no one is there. You don’t get tripped by someone then everyone looks like you’re the idiot! You don’t get fucking clothes covered in chlorine!” he was standing now, bent over with both hands flat on the table glaring daggers at Grimmjow.

Grimmjow started to speak but was cut off. “No, don’t fucking say a thing, Grimmjow Jagerjaquez, oh high and mighty bounty hunter! You think you’re going to swoop in and save the fucking day or something, some sort of revenge after these people killed your first love. Great, wonderful. But don’t use me to get that revenge. I’m not some piece of fucking bait for you to catch these people. And don’t use me as some replacement for your boyfriend you couldn’t fucking save. I’m not him, and keeping me under your thumb won’t matter. You already said protective custody didn’t make a damn bit of difference. So what does it matter? I’m going to lead my fucking life until I die, and it doesn’t matter if these crazy fuckers kill me, or if I manage to avoid them.”

Grimmjow, for once was shocked into silence. Ichigo taking a stand wasn’t that unusual, but Ichigo actually taking such a strong stand against Grimmjow was a bit out of character. Since they’d been around each other, he tended to let Grimmjow take the lead. Ichigo turned to Shiro who was staring at his black nailed hands as though there was nothing more interesting in the universe.

“Shiro, you are taking me to Las Noches tonight, on that date you asked for,” Ichigo said, causing Shiro’s head to pop up. “I’m not drinking, and I swear to fucking god, you put a hand or anything where it doesn’t belong, I will have your ass laid out in less than five minutes, understood?”

Shiro nodded slowly, eyes wide at the sound of his voice. Ichigo glared at both of them. “I’m not a child, I’m not some little kid that can’t take care of themselves, and if you two and everyone else doesn’t keep that in mind I’m going to have to beat some sense into every one of you. I don’t fight because I don’t want to hurt people. I am perfectly capable. Just because I dress in women’s clothes, and like to be girly doesn’t mean I’m weak, goddammit, so quit treating me like some goddamned helpless little child!”

With that he turned and flounced up the stairs with a great deal of grumbling under his breath. Shiro looked over to Grimmjow and let out a low whistle. “I think the stress is getting to berry-boy.”

Grimmjow swallowed, really unsure at the moment how to react to Ichigo’s outburst. “Whatever, just keep your eyes on him. I’ll follow you to the club and stay out of his vision. Fucking stubborn ass!” he said, going with the easiest route and getting angry.

His phone rang just then and he saw it was Barragan. He shook his head and answered it.

“Grimmjow,” he said.

“Man, was wondering if you wanted to come down and talk to the kid that fucker attacked. He seems interested in talking to you since you know these people. He’s not quite recovered, but he’s a lot better than he was,” he said.

“Yeah, be there soon.” He clicked off the phone and looked over at Shiro. “If I’m not back before five, I’ll see you at the club. Just…try to keep your eyes on him. And your hands off him. In the mood he’s in, I don’t want to take you to the emergency.”

Shiro saluted him. “You got it, boss.”

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Karin sat down with Jinta and Wonderweiss and looked around. She didn’t see her sister or Lillinette yet, so she dug into her food beside the two boys. After a while she heard her phone buzz beside her. She glanced down and saw it was a text from Yuzu. She opened it. _Hanging out with Lil over by the Newspaper room, be over in a while._ She smiled to herself. Of course they were hanging out together.

“What are you grinning about?” Jinta asked, looking at her suspiciously.

“Ah, nothing, just think Yuzu is finally getting it on with Lillinette,” she said, shrugging and pocketing her phone.

Jinta grinned. “I wanna watch…”

Karin rolled her eyes. “Pervert,” she muttered as she shoved a rice ball into his grinning mouth.

Yuzu and Lillinette had found a nice secluded spot near the newspaper room to sit and have a quiet lunch together. They’d gotten closer as the weeks had gotten on, and Yuzu felt all fluttery inside when she saw Lillinette. There were just so many things that they had in common, not to mention that they had a lot of fun together. And every time Lillinette would brush her hand across Yuzu’s, Yuzu swore her heart skipped a beat. She just really wanted to run her fingers through that pretty, light green hair she had. She didn’t, though, and instead when Lillinette suggested eating in the quiet spot by the newspaper room, she’d agreed, completely not noticing the blush that stained her own cheeks.

They’d been sitting against the low wall for the last fifteen minutes, and Lillinette was feeding Yuzu a chocolate bar, an action which made Yuzu permanently red in the face. Lillinette wouldn’t give her the chocolate though, and it was really good chocolate, Swiss chocolate actually.

“Lil, come on, I can feed myself,” Yuzu whined.

“But your so cute when I feed you,” Lillinette said with a grin, dropping another piece into Yuzu’s mouth.

“Well, well, what have we here?” came a female voice behind them.

Both girls turned toward the voice and saw a group of five senior girls staring at them. Neither Lillinette nor Yuzu knew any of them.

“You need something?” Lillinette said, looking up at them.

“Yeah, what are you two little girls doing back here? This is our area,” the one in the front, a tall, willowy blonde girl with gray eyes.

Lillinette frowned. “I’ve never seen you out here before, and I am around here every day at this time.”

“Well, we used it last year, and we’re back to claim it today. It isn’t a place for a couple of dikes to make out,” the one behind her said, flipping her black hair that was streaked with green over her shoulder.

Lillinette stood up slowly. “What’d you say?”

“I said, it isn’t a place for _dikes_ , or would you prefer _pussy-lickers,_ or _snatch whores_ …” the dark haired one said, rolling her dark eyes up into her head and crossing her arms over the uniform shirt.

Yuzu stood up and put a hand on Lillinette’s arm. “Lil, let’s just go. I don’t want to deal with this today; we’ve got too much to do today to deal with them.”

Lillinette shook her head. “No, I’m tired of this shit. First Wonderweiss, and now this. Not to mention the teasing you and your sister endure because of your brother. This is bullshit. You all need to leave people the hell alone.”

“Ooh, so you’re the one with the prissy fag for a brother?” one of the others said, grinning. She was another one with dyed blonde hair and dark eyes. Her hair was cropped off around her chin though.

Yuzu stiffened. “Leave my brother out of this. This has nothing to do with him, you are just…a bunch of bully bitches!” she said with a frown.

The one in the front glared at her. “You said we were what?”

“You heard me,” Yuzu said, stepping closer to her. “I said you were a bitch.”

“You little snot!” she said and pulled back and punched Yuzu right in the face. Lillinette yelled and dove for her and for a minute everything was a blur and then they were being pulled apart by a teacher who wanted to know what was going on.

Yuzu was holding a bleeding nose against the wall and looked up at Mrs. Chin the newspaper teacher.

“She hit me in the nobe!” Yuzu said. “She wad calling us names!”

Lillinette moved to stand beside Yuzu and draped an arm around her. “Are you okay, Yuzu?” she asked, ignoring the others.

“What, you called me a bitch, you little cunt licking whore!” the blonde said, holding a hand to her own face where Lillinette landed a sound blow on her chin.

Mrs. Chin narrowed her eyes at them. “Chelsea, you know that it is strictly against the rules to use hate speech on school grounds. We’ve had a rash of incidents like this lately. All of you, get to the office, right now.”

“But she hit me, Mrs. Chin!” Chelsea exclaimed.

“I don’t want to hear it, Chelsea, I’ve heard enough!” the annoyed teacher exclaimed. She may have stood less than five foot tall but she could make her presence known easily enough. “Lillinette, please take Yuzu to the nurse and have her nose checked on.”

Lillinette nodded and headed to the nurses office, leaving Mrs. Chin to watch them go. They’d just disciplined a group of younger boys for bullying behavior toward a boy with autism. Now, they’d have to discipline this group of girls about bullying behavior against sexuality. She was going to have a long talk with the counselor and the teachers about doing something school wide. They had to cut this off before it got any worse. She smiled to herself, remembering who the Kurosaki girls’ brother was and where it was he worked.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Grimmjow hated meeting with victims. Post-traumatic stress was a bitch to say the least, and recovery from rape, especially from this sadistic fucker, was a long process. He’d seen it more than once with this bastard, and both males and females. Seemed that when he really wanted to get his rocks off and couldn’t assault their victim directly, he would grab the nearest thing he could get and take out his frustration. Tales of his strange “philosophy” would inevitably come from them, shedding some light on his thinking. It was twisted and horrible, but it was still something.

He heard voices as he neared the interview room and saw a short, dark haired guy sitting on the couch with his head in his hands. His wrist where it stuck out from under his sleeve was still a garish purple color.

“Mom, I’m not coming home right now,” he said, exasperated by the sound. “Look, yeah, but I’m doing fine. I’m staying with protective custody so I can’t…no…yes, mom, I know. I’m fine. I’ll call tomorrow. Yes, love you too, mom.”

He tapped the phone off and sighed deeply, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he shifted in the seat.

“Rin?” Grimmjow asked and winced as the kid jumped and stared at him with wide eyes for a second before he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“Yeah, you must be the bounty hunter?” he said, standing up. Grimmjow couldn’t help but notice the subtle shake to his hand as he reached out to shake Grimmjow’s hand.

“Grimmjow, Barragan said you wanted to see me about the case?” Grimmjow said, motioning toward the couch so he could sit down by Rin.

Rin nodded. “Yeah, I though…it might…help to know it wasn’t just me, you know?”

Grimmjow nodded. “Yeah, you’re actually one of the lucky ones, compared to the ones he’s killed.”

Rin shivered a bit. “So he murders people too?”

“He’s got a partner, this sadistic bitch that loves to torture people. This guy, though, can’t keep his fuckin’ dick in his pants wherever they go. Men, women, doesn’t matter to him. Ruffies them and then…well, you know what he does better than me.”  
                Rin nodded. “My mom wants me to come home, huh, I can’t, I gotta get through it instead. She doesn’t understand. I mean, it’s not like I’m really hurt.”

Grimmjow shook his head. “Rin, you gotta be able to deal with it. You just can’t ignore what happened…”

“I know, but going back to the ryokan they run isn’t the answer. She thinks the ocean surf is the answer to every problem. For as long as I can remember, she’s believed that sitting in front of the ocean and meditating will fix all your problems. Contemplating the surf will banish all the fears and worries of the world, she says. She can be kinda flakey sometimes, you know. But I know she believes it with all her heart. I’ve got school here, I can’t just run away, you know,” he said, wringing his hands thoughtfully and looking away from Grimmjow.

“What are you going to school for?” Grimmjow asked after a long pause.

“Business. I want to run the ryokan when my parents decide they’re done with it, you know,” he said with a smile. “Ironic, isn’t it? I don’t want to go there, yet I want to run the place one day.”

They sat in silence for a while. “Okay, well, how would you like to come with me down to Las Noches and see the karaoke show? I’ve got to go keep an eye on the other victim these assholes are stalking, and he’s going to be there. There’s a ton of security, the places is pretty damn safe if I do say so myself. And it might help to get out of the safe house,” Grimmjow gave him a small smile. He nodded slowly.

“Yeah, I would like that.”

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Shiro tapped his foot as he waited, glancing down at his phone for the fifteenth time.

“You know,” he yelled up the stairs. “One of the reason I like dating dudes instead of chicks is because they usually don’t take forever to get dressed!”

Ichigo came down the stairs then, grumbling as he finished buttoning the sleeve of the black sheer long sleeve blouse he was wearing. He’d paired it with a red leather mini-skirt and a pair of thigh high boots with low heels. He didn’t want to stand over Shiro, he wasn’t much taller after all.

“I’m here, dammit,” Ichigo grumbled as he straightened his skirt when he got to the bottom. He looked up at Shiro from under his eyelashes and saw he was being oogled.

“Shiro, let’s go,” he said with a sigh and headed out in front of him, knowing that Shiro’s eyes wouldn’t leave his ass for a moment.

They headed out and Ichigo noted that Grimmjow wasn’t around. Curious, he thought for sure he’d have been standing right there when he left. Maybe he got the point. He couldn’t help it, he was still mad at him. Of course, he was still mad at himself for letting everything get to him like this. He should be stronger than that. He should be able to handle these things. Once they got to the club, Ichigo waved to his family and went and hugged his dad, chatting for a minute and then he introduced Shiro as one of the bounty hunters. Everyone went in and sat down, and Ichigo saw that Grimmjow was already there with Nel and Wonderweiss at a nearby table. There was a dark haired guy with him. He didn’t know him, but Ichigo was intent on not caring. However, he kept glancing over to see what was going on. Was Grimmjow on a date? He didn’t think so, he was sitting back with his arms crossed and he didn’t talk to anyone at the table.

What was he doing? He was worried if Grimmjow of all people was going on a date. When here he was on a date with Shiro. He sighed and looked up as Shinji came out.

“Las Noches, welcome to Karaoke night! We’ve got a couple special performances first, and then we’ll let audience members come up and do their thing. First up, with have the beautiful Yumichika performing Heaven Knows by The Pretty Reckless. Give him a hand!” Shinji said, stepping back as Yumichika came out.

He was wearing what looked like a black trench coat dress or robe or something. He started singing, and Ichigo realized he really did have a beautiful voice. Then, he started dancing a bit and flashed open the trench to reveal a very skimpy outfit underneath it. All Ichigo could think was how talented Yumichika had to be to hide his bits so damn well because there wasn’t much room for them in that skimpy outfit. Yumichika bowed and left the stage, stripping the coat as he left and waving at everyone.

Shinji shook his head. “He loves to be looked at, folks. Next up we have our front man for Kirakaze who is going to be performing Finger Eleven’s Stay in Shadow!”

Ichigo tensed at seeing Shuuhei but he noted quickly that the dark haired singer avoided looking at him. He was certainly embarrassed by the whole thing. After he was done, Szayel came up. Ichigo had seen Uryuu earlier sitting on the other side. Of course, as usual, Szayel was a bit on the dirty side, singing Hoodie Allen’s No Interruption. Next, Ggio came out and sang 99 Red Baloons, the Nina version. He had an impressive voice. Findorr strutted out in a cheerleader outfit and sang Shut Up by the Black Eyed Peas. It was quite fun to watch. To everyone’s surprise, Luppi came out next and did a phenomenal Ace of Spades by Motorhead. Ichigo had no idea he was into that genre, but it was pretty cool. Soi Fon came out and did Bad Moon Rising by CCR. Ichigo had never heard a female singer do that song, but she did an amazing job. Harribel came out and did a nice rendition of Tahitian Moon by Porno for Pyros. Ichigo had heard it a few times, but she did an awesome job with it. A few others from the troupe and the Hainekos came out and did some songs, and then Rangiku came up on stage.

“I need some help with this one, oh Isshin!” she said, waving over toward their table. Ichigo glanced at his dad who got up shrugged at him. It seemed Isshin had no idea what was going on.

Rangiku whispered to him and he nodded. Finally they seemed ready, and together they did a really good version of Paradise by Dashboard Light especially considering they’d never sang together before. Shinji returned to the stage when they were done.

“Okay, now, audience, come up and talk to the DJ over there about what song you want!” Shinji yelled and then there was a short break. Ichigo watched as Karin and all her friends went running to the back, and then Shiro glanced at Ichigo and went back to the DJ booth too. Ichigo frowned, wondering what he had in mind. Whatever it was, it had to be perverted if Shiro was involved.

A few minutes later, Shinji was back on stage and introduced Wonderweiss would be singing Misty Mountain Hop by Led Zepplin. There was a murmur among those that knew him but Nel was just smiling. When he was done, there was utter silence followed by loud applause. Who knew he could sing like _that_? After he was done, Karin ran up on stage and sang Do it Like a Dude by Jessie J, which left both Ichigo and Isshin sighing. Leave it to Karin to sing that…. Yuzu got the courage to follow her, her cheeks red the entire time, but she sang Calvin Harris’s Sweet Nothing.   Yachiru hopped onto stage, and to everyone’s surprise, did an amazing version of Lorde’s Royals. Considering the constant movement the girl was in, to see her sing such a song was impressive. Ururu, who Ichigo barely knew, did The Indigo Girls’ Galileo and got a round of huge applause. Jinta went up and did Green Day’s American Idiot and seemed to do more jumping around than anything else. Then, to Ichigo’s surprise, Shiro grabbed his hand and was dragging him up on stage with him.

“What are you doing?” he asked, flushing immediately.

“We’re doing a duet!” Shiro said with a cheeky grin.

“But I don’t…”

“Come on, it will be fun, see, just sing the lyrics in red, and I sing the ones in blue there on the screen, okay?” he said, pointing to the screen as they got ready.

“I’ve never heard this song…” Ichigo said. He didn’t normally listen to Nicki Minaj… And he had definitely never heard High School. Oh well, it wasn’t like he had stage fright, he smiled and nodded and the song started up, and he quickly realized that Shiro was a definite pervert and he had Ichigo singing the girl’s part in the song. Before long, he’d blushed to his roots from the raunchy song, even though Shiro seemed into it, dancing around, grinding against him and everything. When they were done, Ichigo practically ran off the stage.

“Shiro that was a _bad_ song…” he said as he slipped into the chair and hid his face in his hands.

“You sang it good, berry-babe,” Shiro said, dropping a wink and leaning back.

They were being glared at from Grimmjow’s table quite harshly. Grimmjow had barely contained the surge of anger, and, fuck it; he had to admit it, jealousy.

Lillinette got on stage next and sang a beautiful song, a One Republic song called Counting Stars. When she was done she paused and then looked around and grinned.

“Before I sit down, since I think I’m the last one up here tonight, I have to ask a special someone something. I know this is going to embarrass her to no end, but I can’t resist. Yuzu Kurosaki, I was wondering, any chance you wanna be my girlfriend?”

Isshin blinked and glanced over at his daughter who had blushed bright red and had a hand over her mouth. Ichigo arched a brow and glanced at Karin who was leaning against Jinta. I’ll be damned he thought to himself, talk about role reversals. His butch, tomboy sister was straight, and his girly, sweet sister wasn’t.

Yuzu nodded and ducked her head and Lillinette smiled. “See I got a yes, I knew she couldn’t tell me no if I got up here after singing her a lovely song!”

Ichigo laughed and shook his head as his dad just plain looked confused. Rangiku came over and patted his shoulder. “You in shock?”

“That was…surprising,” he said.   “How do I miss these things?”

Rangiku grinned. “Dads don’t usually fret on their kids’ sex lives, you know.”


	12. When People Notice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited 5-28-14

Ichigo was about annoyed as hell with Grimmjow, again. He was going to strangle him before the day was over, he decided. Once again, Grimmjow was being completely and totally unreasonable and Ichigo had had it clear up to the top of his orange head. He wasn’t sure who was more irritable, him or the blue haired bounty hunter.

“Grimmjow, I swear to fuckin’ Kami, I’m going to kick you in the goddamned nuts!” he shouted as he padded down the stairs.

He’d slept in incredibly late but it was time to head to Las Noches. It was getting to the point that he wanted to sleep all the time when he wasn’t at the club.. Two things had him riled up this particular day. One, Grimmjow wanted him to stay home from Las Noches. This was something he was in no way, no fashion ever going to do unless he was seriously ill. And two he didn’t want Ichigo to do a presentation Friday at Karin and Yuzu’s school.

Wonderweiss looked up as Ichigo stormed through the kitchen in a bathrobe. It was a little after four, and Nel was changing out of work clothes while he was reading his favorite manga, Detective Conan, at the bar in the kitchen. He sighed deeply and turned up his mp3 player, making the argument between the two supposed adults almost comical with the backdrop of music. He watched for a moment and resumed his reading. Jimi Hendrix played on in his ears while the adults argued. And people thought he acted weird.

About forty five minutes before, Ichigo had gotten a call from his sister.

Ichigo groaned and grabbed his cell from the floor beside the futon and saw it was Karin. “Whaddaya want?” he muttered.

“Ichigo, it is like three in the afternoon, why are you in bed?” she said with an annoyed tone.

“In case you forgot, after you and your lot went home to bed, I was still at my job,” he muttered.

Honestly, he hadn’t been there much later, but he’d had a case of insomnia that left him nearly shaking before the clock hit three am, and then he took some nighttime allergy medicine, and it took another two hours to work. In fact, it was almost sunrise when he finally got to sleep. He didn’t want to admit it, but he had thought he kept hearing things all night. He probably checked out the window sixteen times. Absolutely nothing there and he was beginning to wonder what was happening to his head.

“Whatever, hey, the counselor called me in and asked if I could ask you and some of your friends from the club to help with a presentation on Friday,” she said simply.

“What kind of presentation?” he groaned, rolling onto his back, noting that Grimmjow was sitting on the opposite futon reading something in a hardback cover. He was probably hiding porn, he thought to himself.

“Anti-bullying. Yuzu and Lillinette were getting picked on, and well, Wonderweiss has been having a hard time lately too. So they thought maybe some people that live differently could come talk to them. They’ve got some guy from that blind school coming, and some lady that works with disabled kids. Dunno who else. But they said you could bring as many people as you wanted to get a good representation of different sexual identity and expression. It seems there’s a lot of sexual identity issues lately other than Yuzu and Lil,” Karin said with a sigh.

“Sure,” he said. “I’ll do it. I’ll go early to the club tonight and see who else wants to go in on it with me.”

They talked a bit more and then say goodbye. Grimmjow looked up at him.

“What are you planning to do?” he asked, closing his book. Hmm, it closed flat, Ichigo noted, that meant he wasn’t hiding porn in it. Oh well.

“Doing a presentation at Yuzu’s school,” he said, getting up and pulling on his robe and shimmying out of his pajamas underneath it to go take a shower.

“Not a good idea,” he said, causing Ichigo to freeze at the door and turn and glare at him.

“Why not?” he said with a dangerous edge to his voice.

                Grimmjow shook his head, completely oblivious to the sudden rise in tension. “You don’t need to be in that open of a place! I already don’t want you going to Las Noches tonight. I mean, its just too…”

                Ichigo glared at him. “No.”

                Grimmjow blinked. “I know you don’t like it, Ichigo, but really, those texts and emails are getting really serious.”

                Ichigo took a deep breath and spun out of the room, heading down the stairs with the blue haired man following him. Grimmjow was already dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, but Ichigo was just in his bathrobe and had completely forgotten he was going to the shower. After they got to the kitchen where Wonderweiss was studiously ignoring them, Ichigo laid into Grimmjow again.

                “I am not going to fucking let them ruin my life!” he said, arms crossed over his chest tightly.

                “Ichigo, they’re going to _kill_ you, not ruin your life!” he said, not looking up as Shiro came in and sat down beside Wonderweiss. He shook his head and began reading over Wonderweiss’s shoulder. Wonderweiss adjusted himself so Shiro could see better. The strangest sort of camaraderie had come about between the two of them, and honestly, no one could really explain it.

                “I am damn well going to live my life, Grimmjow, and I don’t care what they plan to do. Can’t you see that if I give up, give in, they fucking win?” he said, swinging his arms wide open, forgetting that he was only wearing an untied bathrobe.

Grimmjow swallowed, both brows shooting up and Ichigo flushed red immediately, eyes going wide. Shiro, meanwhile, had looked up at the silence and leaned so far over on the barstool to see that he fell off into the floor. To his credit, he did get full view of what he was trying to see before Ichigo practically growled and pulled the robe closed and full on ran out of the room, nearly knocking Nel flat as she came out of the bedroom to find Wonderweiss reading with his mp3 player on loud enough that she could hear he was listening to Led Zepplin. Shiro was on the floor, grinning like a maniac and giggling, and Grimmjow was standing in the middle of the kitchen, a red stain to his face and both hands raised as if he’d been arguing…

She looked around. “What happened?”

Wonderweiss, shook his head, seemingly not as oblivious as he was pretending to be. “Nothing new.”

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Nel sat down at the table to wait for her new friend to come to the club. She’d arranged to meet with Sajin before the club opened to discuss a surprise for Wonderweiss. Nel had sent Wonderweiss to visit with the Kurosaki twins for the evening, much to his delight. It turned out Karin and Yuzu were having Lillinette and Jinta over to meet their father officially since it appeared both girls were going full speed ahead on dating their new partners. From what she understood, Rangiku had gone over to cook for them, claiming Isshin was desperately in need of a woman’s touch in his cooking and making his daughter cook all the time was quite deplorable.

She looked up to see the tall man and smiled at him. She loved his hair, it was so unusual. The orange tips stood out beautifully against his face. It suited him, though, in the way Ichigo’s hair suited him. She stood and shook his hand with a smile.

“Sajin, good evening, how are you tonight?” she asked.

He returned her smile. “Good, good, I’m meeting Tōsen here later. Shuuhei stayed with him last night and should be bringing him in. He has to leave early, though, so I will as well. He teaches social studies at the school for the visually disabled that he came here to attend. He is a very good teacher.”

“Ah, I’m glad you could come by before Kirakaze took the stage. I was wondering about adopting that lovely little dog you had here the other night for Wonderweiss,” she said, sitting down and looking at him seriously.

He thought. “Ah, yes, Chairo, for the sweet little blonde boy, right? He was in love at first sight, of course, I can bring the paperwork and the pup by anytime you want.”

“Wonderful! Wonderweiss loves dogs and it will give him someone around all the time since he won’t ever have any siblings,” she said with a mild smile, taking a glass of soda from Mashiro who winked at her.

Sajin ordered a glass of water for himself and glanced at her. “Are you unable to have your own children?” he asked. “I don’t mean to pry, I’m just curious.”

She shook her head. “No, I’m capable, and one day, maybe I’ll consider artificial means, but I’m not sure. I have Wonderweiss, after all.”

“I have to consider having children one day soon, before my age advances too much,” Sajin said, taking the water. “It is not something I look forward to doing, but my family lineage is an ancient one, and I cannot let it end with me.”

Nel smiled. “No siblings?”

Sajin shook his head. “Alas no, my own birth was perhaps a miracle in my parents’ eyes. My father was a Hibakusha. He was a survivor of Hiroshima. Even though, he was a good father. He was a man of utter peace and tranquility, and we spent much of my youth together. I was even present on some of the many interviews he gave for books, magazines, research projects, and documentaries. We seemed to have visitors for all over the world when I was younger.”

Nel gasped. “Oh my goodness, I’m sorry to hear that. He must have been pretty old when you were born, to have lived through that…”

“He was fifty when I was finally born. They had tried for so long to have a child, and finally I was born. My father suffered though, through the discrimination of being a survivor, and his entire back was covered with horrible burn scars. He was never seen shirtless for this reason. He had so many health problems, and of course, the radiation made it difficult for him to conceive with my mother. I was still relatively young when he passed from complications…” Sajin said thoughtfully.

Nel nodded. “Yeah, that’s tough.” She paused then her mind caught up to what he’d said. “Wait, what did you mean that you weren’t looking forward to having children? Not a fan?” she said, brow furrowing.

Sajin sighed, sipping her own drink. “Ah, I am not interested in women.”

Nel nodded. “That makes it tough. I know Grimmy wants kids, but since he’s into men…well, he’ll have to figure something out.”

Sajin adjusted in his seat and sighed. “I’m not particularly interested in men either, though.”

Nel quirked an eyebrow and grinned. “Asexual?”

Sajin frowned and nodded. He had to admit, it was the first time he’d ever actually had a person assume he was asexual instead of just saying he hadn’t met the right person yet.

“I notice the face, the one I often wear when I try to explain why I’m not interested in men or women. It’s the face that says, here we go, going to have to try and explain to someone again how asexual doesn’t mean what you obviously think it does,” Nel said, a soft smile. “See, that’s actually why I’ll never have kids unless I get artificially inseminated.”

“Really?” Sajin said, leaning forward with interest. Finding someone who understood asexuality was impressive, finding another asexual was even more impressive and rare.

She smiled and nodded. “When’d you figure it out?”

Sajin thought. “I was a young man, attractive I suppose, and I was at a soccer game with a group of friends. This friend, or at least I thought she was just a good friend, started rubbing her hands on me and kissing and trying to touch me in various places. It was…uncomfortable. I find the whole idea of sex…uncomfortable. My family and friends did not understand, most assumed I liked men. I truthfully had no interest in either sex, nor even had ever been sexually stimulated at all by anything.”

Nel nodded. “I was sixteen. All my friends were always telling me I’d get over it if I just had sex with a boy. So I went on a date with a guy. Things got heated, I told him to stop, I wasn’t interested, he called me a cock-tease, went ahead anyway. A month later I found out I was pregnant. A month after that I miscarried, they think due to my age at the time and the stress of dealing with the rape and everything. I couldn’t even _think_ of sex after that. My friends, Pesche and Don, they helped me through it, and Grimmy, well Grimmy almost got thrown in jail for assault and battery when he was done with the guy. In the end, I dropped my charges, and the guy dropped charges against Grimm. Grimmy was so damn mad, said he would have gladly gone to jail for it. I just wanted it over with. Moved not long after that.”

“You seem to have come through it,” Sajin said, sipping his drink and smiling at her.

“I did. I had Don and Pesche when Grimmy wasn’t around, and when he was, he was the best. And of course, after that when I still wasn’t interested in sex, my other friends claimed it was trauma and I’d get over it. They never did understand it had nothing to do with the assault. Don, Pesche, and Grimmy, they all got it. I just…was asexual. Maybe gray, I do find myself sexually stimulated at times, just a little, but nothing that I would ever consider another person for, if you get my meaning. And even then, we’re talking years between…” she said with a smile.

Sajin smiled. “Well, perhaps when I decide on a mother for my family’s heir I should come find you. Get married and live on the _satoyama_ with Wonderweiss and my animals.”

Nel blinked and smiled, assuming he was joking with her. “Wouldn’t that make for an interesting family life?”

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

                Ichigo rode silently in the backseat of Grimmjow’s car beside Shiro and stared out the window, arms crossed over his chest, and his face permanently stained red, it seemed. Shiro, to his credit, saw that Ichigo was incredibly bothered, so he left off teasing him about the curtains matching the drapes. He was still pleased that he managed to sneak a peek before he ran off. He was certainly a cute little strawberry. In more ways than one… He smiled to himself as he watched the world pass.

                He glanced up at the tight jawline of the blueberry and sighed. Stupid man, he thought to himself. If he would just make a move, Ichigo would be in his arms in a moment. But he was too wrapped up in his own shit to notice. Nel had already gone to the club to meet with Sajin, and now they were headed to talk to Shinji and a couple of the others. Edrad sat up from by Grimmjow, Ichigo having refused completely when Grimmjow opened the door for him.

                When they reached Las Noches, Ichigo was out and up the stairs to Shinji’s office to tell him about his sister’s request. Shiro sighed and watched as Grimmjow stood at the base of the stairs and leaned against the wall.

                “You know, blueberry, strawberry’s pretty sweet and ripe. You shouldn’t leave that fruit hanging too long, never know who might pick it,” Shiro said and walked past him to go catch up with Nnoitra and Lisa. They shared his perverse sense of human, and she always had good porn on her. To be quite honest, both of them were pretty high on Shiro’s personal “bangability scale”.

                Ichigo came down with Shinji who whistled shrilly on his fingers. Everyone looked up.

                “Hey, Ichi’s sis asked if anyone from here wanted to go do a presentation on bullying Friday at the school. Just talking and shit about being not hetero and whatever. So yeah. Come talk to me and him if you want. I’m gonna go, and so is he,” he said and headed over to the large table to the side of the room. Emilou and Findorr headed their direction and Harribel and Mila Rose came over in a few more minutes.

                Ichigo purposely did not look at Grimmjow and scooted into the bench beside Shinji, making sure to get as close as he could. Shinji, of course, didn’t mind. He patted Ichigo’s back and they chatted a bit with the others. Harribel looked around.

                “Hey, Rangiku’s missing,” she said. “She gonna miss the show?”

                Ichigo shook his head. “Nah, she’s at my pop’s place for dinner. She’ll be back before the Hainekos goes on stage. Old man’s been ragging on me to come by for dinner, but I just don’t feel like it lately. My other ‘father’ over there is enough of a pain in the ass,” he said, gesturing over at Grimmjow, who sat stoicly at a nearby table.

                “At least you have a good dad, and even Grimmjow means well. Not everyone’s that lucky,” Shinji chided, squeezing Ichigo’s shoulder.

                Mila Rose smiled at the others. “Yeah, I know that too well. I wasn’t so lucky. I had those parents that stayed together ‘for the kids’, you know. Always arguing about money, sex, and all the things that bothered them. I swear, to this day, they refuse to do a damned thing about their relationship, and that’s one of the reasons I moved here. Told them when they grew up I’d gladly come visit them…”

                Harribel took her hand and grinned. “I suppose that’s why you like my mom already and you’ve only talked on the phone.”

                Ichigo sighed. “I know. Let’s talk about something else. Findorr, so you and Emilou have been together a while, right?”

                Findorr took Apacci’s hand and smiled. “We’ve been together since high school, actually. Emilou had a rough time growing up too, I’m glad I could be there for it.”

                Mila grinned at them. “Oh? How did you two meet?”

                Apacci smiled. “He was my math tutor in high school. I was living with my sister and brother in law, well, she was old enough to be my mom, really, Anka was almost eighteen years older than I was, but my bio parents were meth-heads. She did it all through pregnancy, and when I was born they called in my sister to see if she wanted to take care of me. I was a pretty wild child, I couldn’t concentrate at all when I was younger, and I had such poor grades!”

                “I’d like to think I helped fix that,” Findorr said with a smile at her.

                She smiled at him gently. “Of course, I never would have graduated if it hadn’t been for Findorr. Well, and my sister was awesome, because I had so many issues because I was born addicted to the meth my bio-mother took. They took a lot of time with me. That’s how I got into martial arts, as a way to channel my anger and frustration. It worked, really well. I still get out of control now and then, but I’ve got baby boy here for that.”

                Ichigo sipped his soda and turned to look at Findorr. “What about your parents?”

                Findorr smiled. “I was raised in a gender neutral house, it was really quite fun. I grew up playing with dolls and cars and I had all kinds of clothes, both traditionally boy clothes and girl clothes. I don’t think I realized there was a difference between boys and girls until I was in school. It was the harsh truth, thought that I came face to face with bullying there. I’ll never forget the first time I really got in trouble with my parents. I think I was nine, and this older boy was giving me a hard time at the park because I was in a tutu. I used to love watching ballet… Anyway, I punched him square in the nose and knocked him out,” he said, miming the punch toward Ichigo as he spoke. “Well, after that, mom and dad sat me down and taught me some non-violent ways to deal with it. So I do have quite a bit to talk about at this little presentation at the school. I even got the lady here trying some of it to quell that vicious anger of hers.”

                Emilou playfully smacked him and shook her head, and glanced up to see Loly and Menoly standing nearby. Harribel patted the seat beside her. “Hey girls. Are you thinking of going to the presentation?”

                Menoly sat down and nodded. “Yeah, I mean, last time I checked, I don’t think anyone here is intersex.”

                Ichigo arched a brow. “Really? I don’t think I’ve ever met someone that was intersexed. I mean, before Las Noches, there was a lot I didn’t know…what was that like growing up?” he asked, eyes wide with genuine curiosity. Then he gasped. “Oh, I’m sorry, you don’t have to answer that,” he said, blushing.

                Loly rolled her eyes. “Curiosity is fine, Ichi, sweetie. Asking questions is far preferable to making assumptions, as we know all too well, right Menoly?”

                “Kami, yes,” Menoly said, running a hand through her dark hair. “Actually, my problems were more from my family rather than other people. I mean, come on, on the outside I look like anyone else. Not like I run around showing off my genitalia to strangers.”

                “Our parents meant well, well, it was my dad and Menoly’s mother, we’re step sisters, really, and she’s only like two months older than me, but she was always my big sis,” she said with a wink at her. “In fact, what was the worst, was it the time they decided that they had to fix you so you wouldn’t turn into a lesbian?”

                There were snickers all around. “Nah, I think the worst one was I’d just turn into a boy. Oh, wait, or that I’d become so sexually insatiable I’d be a nymphomaniac. That was a wild one too. Almost as wild as you were.”

                Loly shook her head. “I wasn’t that wild.”

                Menoly leaned back and glared at her. “Who pulled who out of a party drunk of her ass when she was fifteen and about to give everyone a bloody strip show?”

                Loly took a breath then sighed. “Okay, yeah, you did save my butt a few times.”

                “What in the world happened?” Harribel asked, looking between them.

                Menoly grinned. “I was at a friend’s house, and across the street there was this raucous party. We couldn’t hear ourselves think it was getting so loud. So I decided to ask them to turn it down. Surprise of surprises when my sister is up on a coffee table, drunk off her ass, and swinging her shirt over her head and almost with her bra off. I never moved so fast in my life, I grabbed her screaming butt, drug her out the door with a comment to the guy at the door to turn it down before I reported them for giving alcohol to a minor, and started feeding her liquids to sober her up.”

                “I remember, man I was so mad at you, but I didn’t stay mad long,” Loly said with a smile at her. “I don’t know, I think it was that hereditary alcoholism link or something. My mom was a drunk, which is why dad divorced her, and I guess I got it. That’s why I don’t drink a drop these days.”

                Menoly gave her a sideways grin. “Funny, you still take your clothes off in front of people.”

                Loly scrunched her nose. “Look who’s talking, so do you, bitch,” she said with a roll of her eyes.

                “Skank,” Menoly responded with a grin.

                While the girls spoke, Rose had wandered over. Rose had just started in the last few months, and wasn’t really a regular because he held a daytime job that sometimes kept him out late. He was a real estate adjustor in his daily life, and that meant a lot of long hours. Ichigo thought he was simply stunning as a drag queen.

                “If you have room, I’d enjoy speaking as well,” he said with a smile, sitting down and tossing his curly brown hair over his shoulders. “I don’t think I’m here enough, but I’ve actually had the surgery to transition from female to male.”

                Ichigo grinned. “Really? How was that? I mean, didn’t it hurt? And don’t you have to take stuff still?”

                Rose grinned. “It was a long process. Doctor’s don’t do sex reassignment lightly. I was lucky though, I heard some of your family discussion. My father passed when I was little and my mother was very supportive when I told her that I didn’t feel right being a girl.   She let me explore my options, and after the requisite time and counseling was finished, I had the surgery. It was actually much easier once the surgery was finished for me to live how I wanted.”

                “Wow, but does it, you know, feel real and work and stuff?” Ichigo asked, a bit wide eyed.

                Rose smiled. “Of course it does!”

                There was a laugh all around at that and they looked up to see Nel coming back from her meeting with Sajin, who had gone over to the bandstand. Kirakaze had just arrived with Sajin’s friend Tōsen. “Hey Nel!” Ichigo said, waving at her.

                “What’s going on over here?” she asked, looking around and sitting down with the others.

                “Oh, Karin and Yuzu asked if I could get a few people from Las Noches to come up to their school tomorrow to do an anti-bullying presentation. Seems there’s been a lot of it lately. So we were talking about bullying and family and all kinds of stuff,” Ichigo said with a smile. “So far, Findorr and Emilou are going, and me and Shinji, and looks like Menoly and Loly are going to come with us. Would you want to come? I know you had some trouble when you were younger.”

                Nel smiled. “Of course, I think I’ve already been asked by the principal, but yeah, I had a speech impediment, and if it weren’t for Pesche and Don, my two best friends growing up, and Grimmy, I would have been miserable!”

                “Oh, wait,” Shinji said, seeing Luppi. “Luppi! Come here!”

                Luppi wandered over and looked at the group. “What’s going on here?”

                “You’re a gypsy, right?” Shinji said.

                Luppi rolled his eyes. “Bastard, you know I hate that name. _Roma_ , thank you very much.”

                Shinji snickered. “I know, couldn’t fuckin’ resist. Luppi here grew up in a circus, hence the incredible flexibility he’s got up there,” he said motioning to the stage.

                Ichigo leaned over toward the slight man. “Really? Cool! Wait, isn’t there a circus coming to town in a couple weeks? Zanpakutou Spirit Show or something?”

                Luppi grinned, smooshing himself into the bench beside Ichigo, getting a glare from Grimmjow at his nearby table. He continued to watch them silently.

                “Oh, Ichi, you smell nice, what is that?” Luppi said, reaching up and breathing in at the collar of his shirt.

                “No idea,” Ichigo said, coloring immediately at Luppi’s proximity and his forwardness. “Nel washed it for me,” he said.

                “Smells nice…” he said, head still buried in Ichigo’s clothes.

                “Lavender rain detergent,” Nel said with a grin.

                Luppi nodded and sat back, stretching. “Yeah, that’s my folks’ circus. They’re looking forward to it. I think I’ll hit the trapeze too when they get here. Out of practice…”

                Ichigo grinned. “Can we go see it? I mean, while they’re not open, I want to see the stuff behind the curtain!”

                Luppi nodded. “Don’t see why not. My folks are cool with that.”

                Mila Rose looked thoughtful. “So, did you travel all the time?”

                Luppi nodded. “Yeah, I was home schooled actually. Which was nice, because the few encounters I had with other kids growing up were rather…telling. I mean, us ‘gypsies’ aren’t the most socially acceptable people, and traveling with a small circus, yeah, we were all considered freaks in the towns we went to all the time. But that was okay, there were other kids growing up because we all had families. And well, the circus was our family. They were sad when I left to do drag here, but they understood. It was really cool, I mean, I’m omnisexual, and always have been, and that was just okay with everyone. I mean, when you have the side show people with you on a daily basis, having a different sexuality isn’t such a big deal.”

                “So your parents didn’t mind you leaving? Even though you were so tight together?” Nel asked.

                Luppi shrugged. “They wanted me to do what I enjoyed. Besides, I can go back anytime I want. They’re still my family.”

                “Um, I have weird question,” Loly said shyly.

                “What’s that?” he asked.

                “Um, I…I kinda have this fear of…um…clowns. What do you think of them? Does your family have them in the circus?”

                Luppi smiled. “My opinion on clowns is it depends on what they are doing, and how they’re doing it. I’ve seen good ones and bad ones. The ones at the Spirit were mostly professional, and if they weren’t, the Ringmaster, Don Konoji, would have them out on their ass in a minute. Either that or the barker, Muramasa, would scare them off. He can be fucking scary as hell when he wants to be. I’m actually not even sure how old the guy is, mom said he was there when she started, and doesn’t look to have aged a day since then.”

                Loly looked a bit uncomfortable still. “But what do you mean it depends on what they’re doing and how they’re doing it?”

                “Well, okay, like some clowns scare kids and people by following them or chasing them to try and make them laugh. Some would get angry when people didn’t laugh. And I knew one that was a terrible alcoholic. But I knew from early on that they were real people, and that’s why some people have trouble with them especially kids. It is sometimes hard to tell there’s a real person under that makeup and hair and costume,” Luppi said with a smile.

                Shinji frowned at Luppi then. “Aren’t you off tonight?”

                Luppi smiled. “Yeah, yeah, well, I’m going to start helping Tessai in the kitchen on my nights off. Might as well, haven’t been doing anything else!” he said, standing up. “Besides, all the traveling I’ve done, I’m gonna teach him a thing or two!”

                “But you’ll come to the presentation at the school?” Ichigo asked, looking up at him as he turned to leave.

                “Sure, I’ll meet you guys here at nine?” Luppi said.

                “Sounds good, it’s after lunch, but we’ll get together earlier to talk about what we want to say,” Ichigo said with a grin and a nod toward him as he left.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

                Rin ran his hand through his hair for the millionth time. The crowd had dissipated, and there was no way anyone would really recognize him here. He’d been here with Grimmjow before, so he thought it wouldn’t be so bad. He knew the place. He didn’t see the people that were following him. He knew they were with Grimmjow’s people, keeping their distance but close enough to protect him if he needed it. He felt a bit safer knowing that people were looking out after him. Still, he was nervous. He looked up at the lit sign for Las Noches and took a deep breath. He was going to do it. He was going to go talk to the guy that that…man was stalking. He needed to talk to him. He would understand how…how he messed with his head. He struck up his courage and went through he door, showing his id and then nearly hyperventilating as soon as he entered at the crowd. He practically ran to the back corner where there was an out of the way table.

                It was too much. He dropped his head to his crossed arms and started to sob uncontrollably. In his mind, the bar came flooding back, and he hadn’t realized it would be this bad. It was a different place, for Kami’s sake! It didn’t even look like the bar! And he’d been here before, so why was he feeling like this?

                “Hey?” a voice said beside him and he jumped to look up at a shorter looking…man, yeah, he was a guy, no boobs, but he was wearing the more feminine style clothes like some of the drag queens wore. He looked up with tears still in his eyes.

                “You okay? I’m Luppi, I work here, well, I’m off tonight, but I was helping in the kitchen,” Luppi said, sitting down beside the distraught Rin.

                Rin shook his head. “No, I…I…I was gonna…t-talk to Ichigo K-Kurosaki. Gr-grimmjow said it might help. Th-those people that are after him…I…I….”

                Luppi, through the grapevine, had heard that there had been a young man who had been assaulted by the bastard that was stalking Ichigo. It didn’t take much to put two and two together. He couldn’t remember his name, but he reached out and pulled him into a hug.

                “Oh sweetie, you aren’t ready to be out here!” he said, and gently pulled him to his feet and steered him toward the back room. “Here, sit down here, I’ll get you a drink,” Luppi said, putting him on the large sofa and grabbing a water glass from the tea cart and filling it with iced water.

                He came back and sat beside him, and handed him the glass. “You sit here with me, no one will bother you in here,” he said with a smile.

                Rin looked up with still teary eyes and nodded his thanks because his throat wouldn’t seem to make the words yet.


	13. Presents and Presentation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited 5-28-14

                Grimmjow sat and stared out the window. It was a little after dawn on Friday morning, and Ichigo and a few people from the club were doing the presentation at that school, despite Grimmjow’s misgivings of the very open and public event without real security. On the small tray table in front of him were records he was pretty sure Ichigo didn’t realize he had. They were records of the texts, emails and phone calls he had been getting over the last few days. The blue haired bounty hunter had been getting the silent treatment ever since their fight in the kitchen and unintentional flashing session. He honestly didn’t think the feisty organette had said one word since then. He couldn’t help wanting to keep him safe. It didn’t help that some of the messages he had received were the exact ones that he’d seen Hana receive.

                _“Aren’t you such a pretty little bitch.”_

_“You enjoy getting all the attention, don’t you? You are nothing but an attention whore.”_

_“I’m going to make sure you get all sorts of special attention.”_

_“You really deserve to suffer.”_

                It went on and on. And every time Shiro brought him a stack from the INTERPOL office, he felt his heart ache even worse. He had known they used the same tactics, but he had expected a lot of it to have evolved over the last few years. He supposed that if it worked once, they expected it to work again. And sadly, it usually did. There had to be a way to stop them. His eyes fell on a gruesome picture that had been in Ichigo’s email of one of their victims painted with clownish looking makeup and tiny cuts all over his face.

                Ichigo’s words came back to haunt him, and though he knew he was angry when he said them, it still stung. _“You think you’re going to swoop in and save the fucking day or something, some sort of revenge after these people killed your first love. Great, wonderful. But don’t use me to get that revenge. I’m not some piece of fucking bait for you to catch these people.”_

                Was he doing that? Was he trying to use him as bait? No, he wasn’t, he knew he wasn’t. He’d never put someone in that kind of danger. He would never do that, he wanted to save him, he really did just want to save him. He knew they’d torture him in the worst ways and then kill him slowly and he didn’t want him to go through that. _“Don’t use me as some replacement for your boyfriend you couldn’t fucking save. I’m not him.”_

                No, Ichigo wasn’t Hana. Grimmjow leaned forward and rubbed his forehead. He wasn’t defenseless. He could take care of himself, but maybe that’s why Grimmjow wanted to keep him safe even more. He really was convinced that Ichigo was far too confident in his own abilities. It was true, protective custody didn’t help, but he had to try to keep him safe! He wasn’t trying to keep him “under his thumb” as Ichigo said. He really wasn’t. He always protected the ones he loved. Wait. Loved?

                “Blue baby,” came a voice from the doorway of the room. Ichigo was sleeping on the futon while Grimmjow sat at the window and looked over the paperwork.

                “What is it, Shiro?” he asked, not looking up.

                “Sugar, you gotta stop pushing so damned hard, you’re gonna break him,” he said, coming up behind him quietly.

                Grimmjow sighed. “What do you care? I keep pushing him, he’ll just jump in bed with you. That’s what you want isn’t it?”

                Shiro shook his head and put both hands on his shoulders. “Blueberry, I don’t want that at all. I want you to see what you’re doing. He’s not Hanataro.”

                “I fucking know that,” Grimmjow said, but there was no real venom to his voice. “I know he isn’t Hana. I just…I don’t want to lose him like I lost Hana. What they did to him, Shiro, you can’t imagine…”

                “I know what they’ve done to every single victim, Blue. Every one of them. I want to stop them, too, you know. For Ichigo, for Rin, for Ggio…and everyone else they’ve victimized,” Shiro said softly. “Look I know I’m a fucking vulgar ass pervert. That’s just me. I grew up bullied and shoved around and called names by my own damned parents. I got out as soon as I could, and I went fucking wild because I could. Then, it happened. I was drugged out of my mind, and this old fart named Zangetsu pulled my ass out of that hell hole I’d crawled into. And you want to know the first case after I got out of training was? This fucked up bitch and her asshole partner who had butchered a young drag queen in France where I grew up. Want to know who he was?” he said, and Grimmjow heard the tightness in his voice.

                Grimmjow nodded slowly. “My fuckin’ brother. My little brother. He was sixteen, and literally came out two weeks before he was kidnapped. My mom killed herself, but that didn’t bother me, she was a bitch and considered my brother her only child, but still. These fuckers have fucked up a lot of people. No one knows the fact that he was my little brother. Not even Zangetsu knows that it was my family. I’d changed my name after I left. I was Shiro, that was it, there was nothing else, I wasn’t that person anymore. And then the fuckers killed the only person in my old life I gave a damn about.”

                “Shiro, I had no idea, I’m sorry…I…” Grimmjow started.

“You’re wallowing in your own grief and you don’t see shit, Blueberry. Look, I know how it feels to be after these people. I know how it feels to lose someone you care about to their sadistic fucked up ways. I know what reading those fucking phone records and emails does to you. Because yes, they used the same goddamned methods on my little brother. If you want to save the Strawberry, you have got to step the fuck back from your own pain. And it is hard as fuck, man,” Shiro said, squeezing his shoulders firmly.

Grimmjow was silent as Shiro massaged his shoulders for a few long minutes and he didn’t realize he was crying. He bit his lip and shook his head. “How, Shiro? How do I forget all that and focus on now? I’ve worked on finding them for so long, and I’ve seen so many victims and families, and never, Shiro, never have I had this problem before. I don’t know what to do. I…I just can’t…what if I can’t save him?”

“Then you move on, Blue. And you keep trying to catch the fuckers because when you’ve been as scarred by someone as we have been, that’s what you fucking do. I don’t know if we’re going to save him, Blue. I don’t know. I wish I could stand here and say don’t worry, we’ll save him, we’ll do it this time. I can’t. We’ve had three of them in protective custody and it didn’t help. They were locked up tighter than we have the Strawberry-boy. So I can’t say. He’s got the advantage that fucking everyone who is around him knows what’s going on. And there ain’t no one as tight knit as a bunch of fucking drag queens,” he said with a soft smile over Grimmjow’s head. He didn’t mention the fact that it hadn’t helped any of the other victims.

Shiro started to leave then turned and put a hand on Grimmjow’s shoulder again. Grimmjow looked up at him, eyes still damp. “Look, you love the fuck outta him, and you don’t know what to do. I can tell, the way your eyes burn when someone else moves on him, the way your eyes follow the little things he does, the way you smile when he gets so mad that he turns red when he can’t see you, you need to move on in another way. Your Hana, he wouldn’t want you to be miserable forever. And I know it scares you to think that if you love him, you’ll lose him like you lost Hana. But here’s a question, Blue, what if you don’t lose him, and you never say anything? Which is worse? Loving and losing it, or never loving? Would you give up the time you had with Hana if it meant you’d never suffer the pain when he died?”

Shiro nodded and then left, leaving Grimmjow to stare out the window. Grimmjow heard the door shut silently and then let a sob out he’d been holding in since Shiro had come in. He quickly got himself under control, though and took a long, deep breath. “Hana…I’ve got to move on,” he whispered, leaning over and putting his head in his hands. “I can’t live like this anymore.”

Grimmjow didn’t notice that a pair of brown eyes that should have been closed in sleep were not, and had not been ever since the door opened to admit Shiro.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

“Settle down! Settle down, please!” Mrs. Chin said into the microphone over the excited chattering of the students in the assembly. It was actually filled past capacity, the top tier filled with the older students, second tier with the middle school students, and the elementary students were squished in on the floor around the stage area. The stage, which was rarely used, had been pulled out so the speakers could come out onto it. Mrs. Chin glanced around and saw the teachers from all the school levels and many parents had come to stand around the edges. The admittance was allowed as long as they had a child in the schools. Of course, no one was checking every single person. There were two outside levels here, so there was no way to know if someone was crashing the presentation. But what could a few extra people hurt?

A microphone had been set up on the top level and lower level as well as closer to the stage so that during the question and answer phases students could line up and ask their questions. Behind the curtain was one of the widest assortment of individuals that Mrs. Chin had ever seen in her life. She hadn’t even realized there was this much diversity in Karakura.

“Alright, please listen, students!” she announced, and the ruckus quieted down. “Thank you. First we have Tōsen-Sensei. He is from the school for the visually impaired.”

Tōsen came onto the stage, tapping his cane until he hit the microphone. He spoke for a while about having to grow up with a disability such as blindness, as well as being of mixed race heritage. There were a few questions, all quite polite about both. He explained he taught social studies and that he found the work very fulfilling. He thanked them for their attention, and headed back. Mrs. Chin came back out.

“Now to discuss a wider range of disabilities, some of you know her through various means, but I’d like to welcome Nelliel Tu Oderschvank. She works as a child therapist and often works with teachers here,” she said, stepping back.

Nel came out with the tall Sajin at her side who was leading a small brown dog on a leash. There were murmurs all through the audience at this.

“I’m Miss Nel, if any of you have ever met me. And this is my friend Sajin and a pup named Chairo. Chairo is an Autism Therapy dog, and Sajin trains therapy dogs at his farm. I work every day with all sorts of kids. I’m also Wonderweiss’s caretaker. There are a lot of different things that I do,” she said with a smile.

She went on to explain what a disability was, what kinds of disabilities made it difficult for other kids to understand, and what kinds of things she helped with. She took a lot of questions from the middle school students, and quite a few from the others. Most were polite, but there were a few that were rude out of sheer ignorance. Nel was unperturbed and continued on to correct them and explain why such derisive terminology was incorrect. She waved and left and Sajin took questions about the dogs he trained and why he did it. He explained how various dogs could help people with disabilities.

“I know that a lot of you here are young and don’t know about the kind of prejudice that comes with certain stigma. My father was a Hiroshima survivor, and because of that, he faced a lot of prejudice. What people didn’t understand when he was alive made them fear him, much the same as those who are different scare us today,” he said with a soft smile.

He went on to explain that he was friends with Tōsen-Sensei, and that he was also familiar with the people that would be talking to them next. He exited and took Chairo with him to applause.

Nel stepped up again. “Finally, the last subject I’m going to discuss is actually the same for me and Sajin-san. Both of us share the fact that we are asexual individuals.”

There was a burst of sound and a volley of questions about what it meant. Nel explained it to the best of her ability, explaining that it was simply a difference, and that while some asexuals were considered a demi-sexual, or a person that could become intimate with someone they become emotionally attached to, and then the issue of gray asexuality. There were a few clarification questions, and then she bowed and left the stage.

Mrs. Chin once more returned.

“Now, students, we’ve had some severe bullying incidents on all of our schools lately, as well as in the community at large. Some of this has been centered on gender and sexuality. For this reason, I’ve invited Karin and Yuzu Kurosaki’s brother to come speak with us and he’s kindly brought several people from the cabaret that he works at, Las Noches. Please keep your questions respectful, and remember that you are representing our school,” she said with a smile, stepping back.

Ichigo came out linked arm in arm with Shinji. Shinji, of course, was wearing black slacks and a white button down shirt, his hair pulled back in a ponytail. Ichigo was wearing his typical attire for his life these days, a blouse with a slightly ruffled collar and a pair of embroidered jeans. His hair was styled back in a couple barrettes and he’d worn light make-up. He had, however, gone full on with a set of black stiletto boots. He had to give them something to talk about, he figured. As soon as they got to the mic, Grimmjow slipped out from behind the curtain and stood over to the side with his arms crossed over his chest so he could see everything on the right side of the room, and Shiro had come out and stood on the other side. More than one glance went to both of them.

Ichigo smiled and nodded. “I see not much has changed since I graduated, these presentations are still done in this assembly room and it is still far too hot in here when they shove you all in here at once,” he said, glancing at Shinji. “I could start, but I’m going to let Shinji start things off. Shinji Hirako is the person that runs the drag troupe out at Las Noches, called the Dangai.”

There were murmurs at this seeming male looking figure. “So, I’m gonna try and keep this clean. Normally when I’m MCing on stage I cuss like a sailor on coke.” Ichigo smacked him and Shinji frowned. “Oh, I guess that’s not appropriate, huh, well, sh-shoot.”

Ichigo groaned. “Okay, so I’m gonna try, but yeah, I lead the Dangai.”

“You don’t look like a drag queen!” someone yelled.

Shinji smiled. “Yeah, well, I’m not performing, now am I? Here, I brought some pictures from the club to show you. Promise, moms and dads, all clean.”

He turned and against the drapes a white screen descended. He clicked a remote in his hand and a picture of Las Noches on the inside came up. “This is our cabaret. Nice huh? Well, you don’t think I’m a drag queen, huh. Well, this is me on most stage nights,” he said, clicking and showing a picture of him all decked out for a drag night. He was wearing a black evening gown and silver stilettos and had his hair done in a beautiful updo thanks to Yumichika. His make-up was extravagant and expressive in the picture. There were murmured comments in the audience. He turned back to them with his drag picture on the screen behind him.

“I don’t dress like that all the time, as you can see. Honestly, I only wear it on stage. And I’m not gay, for your information, I am bisexual, but usually prefer women. I like soccer with a passion and my bane is shopping for stage clothes and make-up. I let the divas do that for me,” he said with a grin.

“What’s the difference between you and a diva?” came a called question from the top row.

Shinji grinned. “See, Ichi-baby here is what we call a diva.”

Ichigo rolled his eyes. “See, the divas are more…ah…girly, I guess. But that doesn’t make them gay, you gotta understand that. Girly doesn’t equal gay in our world. You know, everyone seems to equate being girly or feminine to being weak. That’s not the case, I wanna tell you. Ichi-baby here could kick my a….rear in a fight. And I know it. And there’s others in the club with the same philosophy. But next, I’m gonna call out a couple, they’re getting married soon, but this is Findorr and Apacci.”

Findorr came out dressed in a purple plaid pleated skirt and a light pink blouse. He’d pulled his blonde hair up into pigtails and wore a pair of Mary Janes with socks. Emilou was wearing low rise jeans and a black band t-shirt with a backwards ball cap and sneakers. Again, their entrance was met with murmured thoughts. Findorr stepped up beside Ichigo and Shinji.

“Hi, I’ve never spoken to kids before, but there’s a first time for everything, and a stage’s a stage, darlings. I’m one of the Dangai’s drag queens, and I, unlike Shinji, dress as a woman on a daily basis. My soon to be wife, however, dresses as a man.” He clicked the button and a picture of him done up for stage hugging Emilou who was wearing the black shirt with SECURITY across the front of it beside him. “Emilou works security at Las Noches, and I suppose I’m in the diva category. However, I am one hundred percent straight, and so is my lovely fiancée. Here’s a picture of us being fitted for our wedding clothes,” he said, and shifted to a picture of them in their wedding clothing. “As you can see, I’m wearing the traditionally female wedding dress, and Emilou will wear the suit. We are quite happy with each other. Now, we’ll take questions, if you have any,” he said.

“How’d you know you wanted to wear women’s clothes?” a young girl asked in the middle level.

Findorr smiled. “I grew up in a gender neutral home, and I preferred girls’ clothing from an early age.”

“Do you want to be a woman? Like, are you transgendered?” a high school boy asked.

Findorr shook his head. “Nope, I’m perfectly happy being a man.”

“And I’m happy being a woman. We’re both just more comfortable in these clothes,” Emilou added with a smile at Findorr.

There were a few more questions and they thanked everyone and stepped to the side. Ichigo leaned forward. “Next we have a couple from the burlesque group, the Hainekos, Loly and Menoly.”

Loly and Menoly came out arm in arm and waved at everyone and replaced Ichigo. “I’m Loly, and this is my sister Menoly. We’re both members of the burlesque show, which is not a strip show, though we often do strip teases for the crowd.”

Menoly leaned forward, “Loly is perfectly straight, and I’m actually intersexed and have no particular preference. And before you ask, if you don’t know, intersexed means that I was born with ambiguous genitalia. That means I was actually born with both sets. I identify as generally female when I have to, but I still possess some male traits.”

“You have a penis!” came a yell from the audience followed by the teachers shushing the giggling crowd.

“I suppose, yes, if you must know that. However, I can carry children as a woman can,” she said with a good natured smile, guessing that question would come from somewhere.

They took questions for a little while longer and then left the stage after showing some of the tamer pictures of the two of them in the Burlesque show. Findorr and Emilou had already slipped backstage again.

Shinji came forward. “Now, don’t get the impression that all my drag troupe is a bunch of boys. That’s not the case at all. So here we have one of my drag kings, Arisawa, and one of my faux queens, Mila Rose,” he said as the two women came out.

Arisawa took the mic first. “Hi there everyone, I’m sure you remember me. I was in Ichigo’s grade, and graduated with him. I’m a drag king.”

“What’s that?” came a call.

She smiled. “I go on stage dressed as a man and like the drag queens typically exaggerate female traits, I usually exaggerate male traits.”

She clicked the pictures across showing her in a couple preformances with some of the drag queens. “I’m also a lesbian, but I’m generally considered the more…masculine of us.” She clicked to a picture of her and Orihime together smiling at the camera. “Orihime is my girlfriend, and we’re making plans to make a family together in the future.”

“You’re the butch dyke?” came a call. Arisawa closed her eyes.

“We don’t usually use that terminology. But if you must separate us, some lesbians who are more masculine are considered butch, while the more feminine are sometimes called lipsticks. But to be honest, we’re just who we are and that’s all,” she said with a shrug.

Mila Rose stepped up. “I’m Mila Rose, and I’m a faux queen. That means, before you ask, I go on stage dressed like the drag queens do, but I’m already a female. I’m bisexual, myself, but I’m in a relationship currently with a member of the Hainekos, Harribel.” She pulled up a couple pictures of her in faux queen make up and then a picture of her and Harribel. She took a few questions about what it was like to go on stage as a faux queen, then she and Arisawa stepped back.

“We have two more people from the club, Rose and Luppi. Both are members of my troupe,” Shinji said as the two stepped out. Rose stepped forward first wearing a simple polo shirt and slacks.

“I’m Rose, and I’m transgender. I was born a woman and have been through the sex change operation to transition to a man. I dress as a drag queen for the show, however,” he said with a toss of his long brown hair over his shoulder. He was soon barraged with various questions about what it was like to go through the surgeries and how hard it was for him to make the transitions. He showed pictures pre surgery and post-surgery as well as some of his drag photos. When he was done, Luppi stepped up with a grin, lowering the mic.

“I’m Luppi, and I’m a drag queen too,” she said, showing pictures. “I actually am an omnisexual, meaning pretty much a person’s gender, gender identity, gender expression, that doesn’t matter to me at all. Mainly I wanted to talk about the fact that sexuality is a spectrum. There’s heterosexuality, where you like the opposite gender. Then there’s homosexuality, where you like the same gender. Then they’re bisexual, where you like both. That, however, doesn’t really cover everyone like transgendered or intersexed individuals. Omnisexuality is often called pansexuality, though I prefer the term omnisexual. To me, I’m attracted to all aspects of biological sex as well as gender expressions. Sexuality and gender are so much more than X and Y chromosomes,” he said with a smile.

“On another note, as far as nationality goes, I’m a Roma. Which, if you’ve never heard of the term, the more derogatory term is gypsy. I grew up in a circus and spent my youth training as an acrobat,” he said, putting up a few images from his time in the circus. “During my time there, I was friends with the people in our side show. It was a different world when you live and work with people who swallow swords, manipulate dry ice with their hands, and channel electricity.”

There were some more questions for Luppi and then he headed back. Shinji clapped Ichigo on the back and followed him and Rose and he took the microphone again.

“All the people you’ve heard speak are great. Some of us look different, but that’s because we’re being ourselves. During school, I never outward expressed my preferences. I wanted to be like everyone else. That shouldn’t have to happen. After I left school, I got the courage to be who I was always below the surface. Now, do you have any last questions?” he asked, looking around.

“Who’s the white guy?” someone yelled. Ichigo leaned back and realized they were talking about Shiro. He grinned. Time to get back at him for the karaoke night.

“Shiro, come here!” he said.

Shiro rolled his eyes and walked out, getting more than a few murmured comments at his strange appearance. As if him being pure white wasn’t enough, he’d work a bright pink polo shirt and a black kilt with a set of goth chunky boots.

“This is a friend, Shiro,” Ichigo said with a half grin.

Shiro rolled his eyes and leaned forward. “Yo. What’s up? As ya can see, I’m one white mofo.” There were giggles as Ichigo smacked him on the shoulder. “What, Strawberry? It’s true. Ain’t nothing to hide it. I was born in France and treated like shi—crap until I left home because of the way I look. Sucked. But you know. Mom was a…a…not nice woman,” he said, cutting his eyes at Ichigo who was daring him to say something else. “But yeah. I help out with security there at Las Noches now and then with Blueberry across the way. I’m bisexual, well, more omnisexual, don’t really matter to me, didn’t know that’s what you called it until now, but hey, even one of us can learn something, huh?”

There was a laugh across the room. “Obviously I’m an albino, but I got these funky eyes instead of the red ones. I happen to like mine better. Those red eyes are freaky, man.” There was an almost shocked silence. “Hey, dudes and dudettes, let me tell you one thing I’ve learned, you can’t take yourself too seriously. Bullying is bad, sucks major…um…major. Anyway, yeah, so you gotta stand up for people. If you don’t, that’s so not freaking cool. Don’t be uptight, but don’t let people walk on ya either.

“My main man Wonderweiss gets crap, and that’s not cool. Me and Wonderweiss, we are tight, man, sitting watching Digimon half the night and reading manga. If ya don’t give people a chance, you never know when you’ll pass up a good friend. The Strawberry gets crap, and I know his sisters do too, and that ain’t good. He’s a glitter fairy, I know,” he said, winking at him, getting a huff and crossed arms. “But you know I love the boy like he is, glitter and priss and all. That’s him. And you gotta take people as they are. Don’t make ‘em change just because you haven’t seen someone like them before,” Shiro said, shrugging.

“People love who they love, and you know, it ain’t bothering you, so let ‘em be. And just because Ichi-berry here likes to look like Tinkerbell puked on him, whatever, man. He’s a cutie, and I’d date ‘im. I’d also date anyone else who caught my attention, but hey, that’s not everyone’s cup ‘o tea. So yeah, just be cool to each other. That’s all ya gotta know. And when you see others being not cool to someone else, don’t ignore it. You see someone messin’ with someone else, stop it. Or go get someone who can. That shi…crud is not cool.”

Shiro leaned over and kissed Ichigo on the cheek and went back to leaning against the curtain. Ichigo blushed and looked out. “So yeah, that’s all of us from Dangai and Las Noches. I’ll let Mrs. Chin have it back,” he said and headed back stage. Overall, he thought it went well. He still couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched, but that was silly. He was being watched by a whole room of people! He didn’t see two people slip out before the teacher finished talking, one of which wore a white hat with a wheel symbol on it.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

“Wasn’t he so adorable?” Bambietta said, flopping into the ratty couch at the rat infested motel they were staying at. It was a lovely no-tell motel.

“I wanted to snatch him off that stage,” Quilge muttered as he rummaged in the dank fridge for something to eat. “You got in touch with that Yakuza boy?”

Bambietta sighed. “Yeah, sure did. He’s gonna do the house tomorrow night. Fuck some things around for us.”

“Good. He’s looking a little too…together…still,” he muttered as he flopped into the moth eaten chair beside the nasty sofa.

She nodded. “Yeah, fuckin’ blue haired bastard and that white one. They’re messin’ with shit. If they weren’t around he’d be doubting his own goddamned name by now. Just gonna take more work, that’s all, Quilge. You’ll get your chance.”

He glared at her, picking box of rice he’d retrieved. “Yeah, you promised I’d get my chance this time. I’m tired of putting myself on the line by finding something to fuck on my own.”

She rolled her eyes. “Jeeze, you are such a high maintenance partner, really! You can’t keep your cock under control for the life of you. I mean, you will literally fuck anything I think. And you say you’re gay, so why do you fuck girls when you can’t find a pansy boy you can wrangle by yourself?”

He glared at her. “It isn’t like I fuck them in the cunt, honey.”

She giggled. “Okay, I give ya that, you horny bastard. But you’ve already played once here, don’t push your luck.”

He glared at her and muttered under his breath as she picked up the phone again, dialing a familiar number. “Yeah, hey, Bambi here, remember that favor you owe me?” she asked.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Nel was excited as she headed into the house with Sajin on her heels and a certain little dog trailing behind them. Grimmjow was bringing Wonderweiss home because he, Shiro, and Ichigo were waiting to pick up Karin and Yuzu as well after the big presentation. It was a good thing they were skinny enough to fit four across the back. They were going to surprise Wonderweiss with his new pup. She was so glad she’d chosen this. Of course, she had more than one reason. She also felt like having a dog around might help with Ichigo’s situation. She knew someone had been in her place. She’d realized things were moved around. She’d told Barragan, but definitely didn’t tell Grimmjow. It wasn’t like he could benefit from the knowledge and he’d probably use it to try and corral poor Ichigo again.

She knew he meant well, she really did, but she really just wanted to smack the great big idiot and hope to get some sense in his brain. Maybe soon, she hoped. She looked up and saw Sajin in the living room on the couch playing with Chairo. She headed into the room.

“Hey, um, just a head’s up, I don’t quite know how Wonderweiss is going to be today. I mean, it has been pretty rough lately with all the changes around here, and now with his school day messed up because of the assembly, and Grimmy brining him home, he’s not going to be in the best frame of mind…” she said hesitantly.

Sajin nodded, not looking up for the dog. “It is fine, my dear. He is expected to be a bit out of sorts. After all, his uncle and a bunch of bounty hunters recently showed up out of nowhere and then Ichigo started staying here. I can’t imagine him being very happy with all that.”

“I know you train the dogs, but you know a lot about the autism spectrum, then?” she asked, sitting down across from him.

He nodded. “I do. I have eternal patience.”

She smiled. “Yeah, most people think they do until faced with an autistic kid on a rampage,” she said with a sigh. “His parents were so terrible to him, you know. It was just…they’re the type that don’t need to ever have children. They just mistreated him so much, and didn’t understand. They thought if they smacked at him enough or yelled loud enough, it would ‘fix’ him. The poor thing was told so often he was just a bad child, and he didn’t deserve to have anything.

“They used to lock him into his room for days with little to no contact, and tell him horrible things. The poor boy won’t go in a garden with those silly gnomes in them. He was told that they came alive in the dark and ate bad children, and that was only one of the horrible things they’d tell him. I mean, I gave him his first birthday gift, isn’t that sad? And that was before he had a diagnosis…not that it matter to his parents.”

“That’s terrible,” Sajin said, looking up. “His parents didn’t agree with the diagnosis?”

She shook her head sadly. “They said he was a bad kid, that autism didn’t excuse it. It was so hard, then social services ended up stepping in, finally after a nasty incident where a store own called on them and had a security tape to prove it.”

“What happened?” Sajin asked, holding Chair on his lap and petting him thoughtfully.

“He still dreams about it, but they were in a big department store near Christmas, and Wonderweiss was looking at a snowglobe. He had money to buy it, even. His mother just came up and slapped it out of his hands and it crashed at his feet, sending shards of glass everywhere, cutting him up in the process on hands and face. The horrid woman was screaming at the top of her lungs and cussing the poor boy out for wandering away. He was less than five feet away from where she was looking at jewelry. After that, there was an investigation, and a medical exam and interviews, the whole thing, that’s how I met him. I did the evaluation, and documented the abuse,” Nel said nodding at him.

“That’s terrible,” Sajin said, shaking his head. “Has he recovered from their abuse?”

Nel shook her head. “Somewhat. He still covers his ears when he hears children crying. When he first came to me, he’d hide when he heard children crying. I had to make him understand that not every child that cried did so because their parents were mean to them. And there are tons of…” she stopped and stood as she heard the door open.

“Wonderweiss!” she called as he came in followed by Ichigo and Grimmjow. Shiro and the girls were outside, messing around with the baseball from the glance she caught.

It was obvious he was stressed. She hoped Chairo helped the situation. “Wonderweiss, we have a surprise,” she said, smiling at him.

He growled under his breath at her and narrowed his eyes. Oh boy, she thought. Okay, so no talking, she guessed. Instead, she picked up the small dog and held him aloft. “Look! You have a new pet! He’s all yours, a service dog, so he can go everywhere with you, even to school!”

Wonderweiss stared at the dog then at everyone in the room and growled again and turned and headed up the stairs to his room and slammed the door. Grimmjow and Ichigo frowned and looked at Nel.

“He’s a bit out of sorts today, don’t worry, he’ll be fine,” she said and glanced at Sajin to find him unperturbed by the event. That was certainly a different reaction than she expected. Perhaps Sajin was more patient than she thought…

From upstairs there was a loud sound of Wonderweiss’s speakers blaring Rush. She knew he needed to relax a bit. She turned to Sajin and smiled. “He really appreciates the pet. He’s just…”

Sajin smiled and stood. “I know, my dear. It is fine. I must return to tend the animals though. My train leaves in half an hour.” She leaned forward and kissed Nel on the forehead and then left quietly, waving to the others. Nel smiled and hugged the small dog against her chest. That was surprising.

Ichigo shook his head and smiled at her. “I’ve gotta change and get to the club. Busy night tonight! I’ve got a skit with Findorr and Rose, and then I’m doing the Burlesque show tonight, we’re doing the second part of the Lord of the Rings set!” he said, dashing up to his room, leaving Grimmjow with Nel. Grimmjow stared after him looking somewhat pensive.

“Big bro, what’s up?” Nel asked, seeing the thoughtful look.

“Huh?” he said, turning to her. “Nothing.”

Nel smiled to herself as she took Chairo into the kitchen for some kibble. She estimated half an hour of Rush, Dio, Jimi Hendrix and Led Zepplin, and Wonderweiss would be back down to get to know Chairo better. And her brother…well, he still seemed to have his head up his ass, but perhaps he was starting to pull it out.


	14. Turning Corners

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited 5-28-14

After Sajin left, Ichigo collapsed into the chair and promptly fell asleep in front of the TV with the small brown dog in his lap. It was barely after four, and both Nel and Grimmjow took notice of the fact that he seemed exhausted most of the time these days. He was supposed to head into Las Noches tonight around six, Grimmjow knew, so he left him in the chair and headed into the kitchen to help Nel with dinner. He wondered if Ichigo would wake up to eat. He had also noted that he was eating less, and getting sick more often. He was seriously debating just letting him sleep and calling Shinji to say he wouldn’t be in tonight.

Shiro swaggered in and flopped onto the stool with Edrad beside him looking rather serious.

“What’s up?” he asked in the middle of chopping green onions as Nel cooked beef strips behind him.

“I’m worried,” Edrad said. “I’m not seeing much chatter, at least not as much as I’d like.”

Grimmjow shook his head. “Still got Shawlong on that other kid, Rin? And Di Roy on Ggio?” he asked, handing the bowl of chopped onion to his sister.

“Yeah, but there’s some rumors going around that the Yakuza might be involved,” Shiro said with a sigh. “The INTERPOL office has been hopping with news that several people on the watch list are moving lately. They wouldn’t really mess with the Yakuzu, would they?”

Grimmjow shook his head and sighed. “Why not? These assholes have used every gang, mob and mafia from here to Germany, why would the Yakuza be left out?”

Nel came over. “I don’t understand what you mean, they use gangs? How do they do that?”

Shiro sighed. “They help these gangs, mobsters, crooks, whatever, for free. Then they need ‘small’ favors which include stalking their victims. Somewhere along the way, they’ve done favors for Yakuza people. And now they’re calling them back in. Like the break in at his dad’s place.   That wasn’t them; that was someone else, which is why we can’t connect them to it.”

Nel nodded. “Wow, they’re organized…” she began, but was interrupted by a volley of barking and a thump from the living room. Grimmjow put up a hand and went in quietly to see what the issue was.

Ichigo had apparently fallen out of the chair when the dog barked. Chairo was on his hind legs at the nearby window barking at something. Ichigo was sitting on the floor blinking sleepily. Grimmjow moved in quietly and looked behind the curtains and Chairo moved to sit by his foot and looked up at him and panted.

“What’d ya see, boy?” he asked. Chairo just looked at him.

Grimmjow straightened up after a few minutes, having seen nothing outside and jumped because Wonderweiss was standing behind him. He reached down and picked up Chairo and disappeared back up the stairs with him. The sounds of his music came back down the stairs again. Grimmjow looked at Ichigo who was still sitting where he fell.

“You okay?” Grimmjow asked.

Ichigo shook his head and blinked at Grimmjow. Okay, he had to have been half asleep. There was obviously no one out there, but he swore he saw someone looking through the curtain. What was the dog barking at, though? He stood up and sighed.  

“I’m going to lay down upstairs for a while before I have to get ready,” he said, heading up the stairs.

“You aren’t going to eat?” Grimmjow asked him.

Ichigo didn’t answer, just disappeared into the bedroom. Less than five minutes later he came running down the stairs after slamming the bedroom door. Grimmjow looked up as he stopped in the doorway to the kitchen with eyes wide as saucers.

“Ichigo?” Grimmjow asked, frowning and standing up.

“Either I’ve completely lost it, or there’s a fucking tarantula in the bedroom on my futon,” he said quietly.

Grimmjow glanced at Shiro and both took off up the stairs. Shiro opened the door carefully, looked in and shut it. Grimmjow looked at him with a questioning look. He shook his head and took off back downstairs. Grimmjow rolled his eyes and opened the door to see a huge bright blue spider sitting right in the middle of the futon. He blinked and closed the door before opening it again and seeing that said spider had not disappeared. He went down the stairs and looked at his sister.

“Do you have a box?” he asked.

She looked at him. “Are you telling me there is a tarantula in my house?”

“Yup. Gimme a box. It’s a cobalt,” he said as she came back with a mid-sized box.

Grimmjow headed up the stairs again to find it was still in the same spot. He knew a thing or two about tarantulas. Hanataro had a couple when they were in high school together. He also knew that this one was one that was often a bit more aggressive, so he wasn’t going to take a chance. He quickly dumped the box over the top of him and scooped him up with the lid. He didn’t take off, so obviously he came from a pet shop. He took the box downstairs and noted that Shiro took a large step back away from it. He looked at the albino.

“Don’t like spiders?” he asked.

Shiro shook his head. “No, keep that fuckin’ thing away from me, man, I’ll squish it.”

Grimmjow shook his head. Wonderweiss came in with the dog in his arms to see what the fuss was about. Grimmjow grinned at him.

“Want another pet?” he asked.

Nel’s eyes went wide. “No, no way, Grimmy!”

Grimmjow smirked. “Hush, now, Nel, these things cost a fuckin’ arm and a leg in the pet store, we’re not just dumping it out the front door. Here, bud, look,” he said, opening the box. Wonderweiss stared into the box and looked up at Grimmjow.

“The cobalt blue tarantula, _Haplopelma lividum._ Native to Myanmar and Thailand. Often kept as pets. Where did this come from?” he asked, looking up at Grimmjow.

Grimmjow shrugged. “Dunno, found it in the bedroom. Want him?”

Wonderweiss nodded. “Sure. I would need appropriate housing.”

“Keep him in the box tonight, I’ll take you after school tomorrow to pick up an aquarium set up,” Grimmjow said with a grin.

Nel glared at him as Wonderweiss disappeared with the box in one arm and the dog in the other. Grimmjow shrugged. “What?”

Ichigo shivered and went back upstairs and was ready to leave in moments. Slightly freaked out, he wanted out of the house. The night passed in a blur and before long he was back sitting in his room on the futon and waiting to get sleepy. It was a long time before he fell asleep. It didn’t help that the automatic sensor light outside his window kept flipping on after it got dark. Every time he went to look, there wasn’t anyone or anything there.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Isshin was getting ready for his first real date with Rangiku. Sure, they’d been on a double date, but tonight they were going to an Italian film festival featuring Roberto Begnini’s films together. They’d opted to have dinner at a small, out of the way diner that served a variety of foods. He thought it would be fun, and unlike most the women he’d asked to go to one of these film festivals with, she seemed excited. He hated that most the women he’d dated in his time thought they were boring and hard to follow. They weren’t at all. He adjusted his jacket and headed for the door.

“Oi, goat face, going out?” Karin yelled from the sofa.

“Yes, I am going on a date with Matsumoto, dutiful daughter,” he said with a smile at her.

“Whatever, don’t come home drunk. I’m not helping your dumb ass to bed,” she said, going back to her game on the TV.

Isshin smiled and headed out the door to meet Rangiku when his phone rang in his pocket. He blinked and stared at it for a while. It was someone he hadn’t been expecting to call him.

“Kurosaki,” he answered tentatively.

“Yo, hey, so I got some information or you,” came the rough voice on the other end.

Isshin’s breath caught. Tetsuzaemon Iba was a man Isshin had grown up with, and a man he’d fixed up under the radar on more than one occasion. He was also one of the few people he knew to ever successfully leave the Yakuza and live.

“So, there’s this rumor that these two sadistic fuckers showed up in town and are calling in favors left and right. Found out one of those favors was breaking into your house and the clinic,” he said.

Isshin had expected as much. “Yeah, no surprise there,” he said solemnly. The person that had done it had been professional, he knew that much. “They’re after my son, some sort of serial killers.”

There was a pause. “I heard they only went after fairy boys who dress like girls…oh…oh. Sorry about that man, I didn’t know…”

“Yeah, well, it doesn’t matter to me if he’s gay. But the point is I need you to give me a heads up when they’re in motion if you can. I’ve seen what they’ve done to their other victims. I don’t want my son dead. And you owe me,” Isshin said as the cab pulled up and he handed a slip with Rangiku’s address over to the driver.

“You got it man. This a hot number for you?” Iba asked.

“It is. Leave a message, or text me if you want, this is my mobile,” Isshin said.

“Got it, Isshin. I’ll do what I can,” Iba said and the line went dead.

Isshin rubbed his forehead. This day couldn’t get any more complicated. He looked up as they stopped outside Rangiku’s place. She came out wearing a nice red dress. He smiled. Maybe he could forget about his son being stalked for a few hours. She slid in the other side of the car and smiled.

“Isshin, I’m looking forward to this!” she said with a grin. “No one ever wants to go to the foreign films with me.”

He smiled. “Well, I have a soft spot for them myself,” Isshin said as they headed to the festival.

Several hours later, they entered a moderately sized restaurant and sat down and talked for hours it seemed like over the festival. They each had a good meal and both felt very glad they had taken the time off to spend together.

“You know, I haven’t had this much fun with a woman in years,” Isshin said as he sipped his wine. They’d shared a desert of fried ice cream, a treat that he rarely indulged in. He leaned back and smiled at her.

“Yeah, you’ve got to be the first man I’ve gone out with that hasn’t tried to get me in bed after the first date,” she said with a smile.

Isshin shook his head. “I’m too old for that.”

She quirked an eyebrow and grinned. “Too old for the one night stand or too old for getting in bed with me?”

He returned her smirk. “Too old for one night stands.”

She nodded. “Glad to hear it. There’s so much hate and hurt in the world, its nice to just enjoy someone for once without worrying about how long it takes for him to turn into a jerk.”

Isshin smiled at her and shrugged. “I guess I’m just a gentleman.”  

The rest of the night passed with gentle smiles and subtle touches, and a gentle kiss at Rangiku’s doorway. Isshin hadn’t felt this alive since he lost Masaki.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Tuesday was a bright day as the Kurosaki twins came into class. They glanced up to the front to see a substitute teacher was sitting there looking over notes and the big roll screen had been pulled down. They heard the distinct whir of the projector already being on. Movie day, they each though and smiled at each other. First, Monday was no school for a teacher work day, and now Tuesday was a movie day. That meant Wonderweiss would get to stay in class with them, Jinta and Lillinette. Karin would be sure to tease Yuzu later about being in the dark with her girlfriend.

“Yo,” Jinta said, surprising Karin as he came up behind her.

“Teme!” she countered and smacked him on the shoulder. “Don’t do that!”

“Damn, woman, don’t hit me!” Jinta said with a frown, rubbing his shoulder. “I was just telling my favorite girl hi.”

It took a minute but Karin blushed a bit. She had been flirting with him pretty shamelessly lately, so it was no wonder he was turning it around on her. They were dating, she guessed. “Yeah, well, look, movie day. Let’s take up the back corner,” she said, gesturing to the desks in the back. They looked up as Wonderweiss came in with Lillinette. He smiled at them as he sat down.

“I have two pets now,” he said with a smile.

Karin frowned. “Wait, I knew about the dog, what else?”

He looked very pleased as he pulled out his phone and showed them a picture of the cobalt tarantula. “This is Azura. Ichigo found him on his bed Friday night.”

Karin and Yuzu looked at him. “What? Ichi-nii found _that_ on his bed? How’d it get there? He’s on the second floor!”

Wonderweiss looked at the phone. “Yeah. I guess someone put it there.”

Karin and Yuzu exchanged glances. The girls didn’t quite know everything about what was happening with their brother, but they did know that this was not good if someone was putting giant damned spiders where he slept.

“Good morning, class! I’m Tai-sensei and today I’ll be watching the class and putting in movies. Your regular teacher is sick. So, sit back, and after the first movie, we’ll have a break before we start the next. First we have an old movie, but probably one of my favorites, Romeo and Juliet as the modern version. I know in your literature class you’ve been studying the story, so we’ll watch this and then a slightly different adaptation after we break!” she said cheerily and played the first movie.

At break, they headed to grab cans of juice and returned to sit down to see that the movie coming up was Gnomeo and Juliet. That was when Karin and Yuzu noticed the wide eyed stare that Wonderweiss was giving the opening credits. His hands were shaking a bit and he’d gone a bit paler than normal.

Karin leaned over. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Wonderweiss swallowed. “I don’t like gnomes. They’re scary… When I was little, my birth parents used to tell me they came alive and ate bad kids, and since I was bad, they’d come eat me. I logically know that this is not possible, of course. However, it has not dissuaded my fear of them.”

Yuzu came and pulled her desk a bit closer and took one of his hands and Karin did the same n the other side and took the other.   “Hey, just watch this movie, and then you’ll see a few things, and we’ll stay here. Let us know if you have to leave though,” Karin said softly to him.

Wonderweiss gulped and nodded. He felt incredibly brave and proud of himself as he watched the movie. At the end he looked at his two friends and smiled.

“There are good and bad of everything,” he said.

Karin and Yuzu grinned at each other than gave the boy a big hug. It was lunchtime and they headed out to eat their boxed lunches. A few minutes later, one of their friendly neighborhood bullies came up to them. Karin raised a brow and looked at him. It was Ryu.

“Hey, look, I…um…I just wanted to say I’m sorry for all that stuff we said before. I thought what your brother did Friday was pretty cool. I guess I didn’t realize how many different types of people there were, I just thought there were girls and boys, and anything else was weird. And I was wrong,” he said with a sigh. “I…I can’t change the way my brother and his friends treated you and your brother, but I guess I can change the way I treat everyone.”

The group sat in stunned silence. Karin smiled. “Thanks, Ryu. You can’t imagine how much that means to hear.”

As he walked away the twins exchanged smiles. They were still getting rude gestures from Kenamaru and the rest of that group, but maybe they had changed one person’s mind. Maybe, just maybe, that change would take, and the world would be a little bit better.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Luppi wandered through his apartment getting stuff together for the night. He smiled at the lump still sleeping under the covers on his bed. Ever since the other night at Las Noches, when Rin had come in and tried so hard to be brave, Luppi had let him stay at his place. At first, he’d slept in the recliner, but after the first night when that odd explosion tore him to wakefulness, he’d found his rest beside Luppi.

It had been weird; a sudden loud blast had woken both Luppi and Rin up with a start. Rin had fallen right out of the chair into the floor and promptly began to have a full blown panic attack. Luppi had rushed into the living room and calmed him down, wrapping him up tightly and rocking him as his heart raced. Rin had clung to him and eventually Luppi had managed to get him into the bedroom and he fell asleep against him and finally got the first decent rest he’d had in more than a week. The next morning on the news, it turned out there had been an explosion in a nearby all night café’s restroom. Someone had put some sort of explosive down a toilet and it ignited some of the sewer gases. Luckily, no one was badly injured, but the reporter commented on extremely high incidence rate of petty arsons and random seeming explosions throughout Karakura Town.

Rin was a student so he didn’t work, and was avoiding phone calls from his parents who wanted him to come to their ryokan and stay for a while. Rin knew himself best, though, and Luppi supported him in that. He knew that to heal he couldn’t hide. But it helped a lot to have someone there beside him.

To be honest, Rin didn’t feel safe alone at all. He knew that one of those bounty hunters was following him and making sure he was safe, but he was scared in the dark often. Now, though, he had Luppi to help him and that made the world of difference.

“Rin, honey, wake up, it’s almost time to head to the club,” Luppi said softly as he shook the other man awake. Rin sat up and stretched.

“Okay, Luppi, can I borrow some clothes again?” he said, looking over and realizing he’d emptied his suitcase already.

“Sure, honey, there’s some girly stuff or some more manly stuff in there, take whatever you want,” Luppi said, patting him on the back as he went into the bathroom to shower and change into his own outfit.

Luppi emerged from his bathroom wearing a pair of blue jeans and a Black Sabbath t-shirt with some combat boots. He saw that Rin had gotten out a pair of his old jeans and a plain t-shirt. He had his own boots, so he didn’t need to borrow any of Luppi’s massive selection of both male and female shoes. He smiled at the other man and reached out his hand.

“Come on, honey,” he said with a smile.

Rin blushed and nodded, taking his hand. He felt the slight jolt through his body that touching someone he was really attracted to gave him. It was strange; he thought he would find it much harder to be attracted to someone after what had happened… He shook it away. Luppi hadn’t made a move one on him since taking him to the back room at Las Noches. In hindsight, going in a backroom with a stranger wasn’t the best idea. However, it had turned out for the best. Luppi had held his hand while he cried and told him about what that awful man had done to him, and he said he had come in thinking that maybe he could talk to the other guy he was after, just to warn him or something.

Rin sighed and felt Luppi squeeze his hand. “What’s wrong, honey?” he asked as he looked over.

Rin shook his head. “I don’t know, I’m just…thinking.”

Luppi patted him on the hand. “We’ll see about talking to Ichigo tonight. He’s been really off the last few nights, so it might be a good idea. He’s in the bathroom all the time throwing up and he looks like he’s lost ten pounds. I heard Uryuu say he had to take in some of his clothes the other night. I’m thinking he definitely needs some support these days.”

Rin nodded. “So, what exactly is it? Grimmjow just said he was being stalked by that guy that attacked me…”

Luppi nodded. “I don’t think everyone’s supposed to know everything that’s happening, but you know how it is. We’re a family, and Ichigo’s problem is the worst kept secret around. Nah, these bastards are sadistic assholes that seemed to have decided that Ichigo is their target. He’s been getting weird phone calls and strange texts, and threatened by random people. It is quite a mess…” he said as they headed back to get dressed. Rin sat beside the change room and waited until he came out in his outfit for the night. He was actually going on with Ichigo tonight, a skit where they were cheerleaders and a couple of the drag kings were playing jocks.

Luppi took Rin out front and waved at Grimmjow who was sitting near the stage with a permanently etched frown these days. He nodded. “Here, sit with Grimmy, and you’ll get a good view. I’ll come down when I’m done,” Luppi said, giving him a wan smile. It was one of those times when he had a strange feeling in his gut. Something wasn’t right.

He almost ran into Ichigo waiting at the back of the curtain. They were in matching cheerleader outfits along with Findorr and Szayel who were background characters for the skit. Tatsuki and Illfordt were playing the male characters.

“Hey Ichi, what’s going on?” he asked with a smile.

Ichigo shook his head. “Not much, just a little tired.”

“Not sleeping well?” Luppi asked, a bit concerned.

“Ah, just one of the outside lights keeps coming on. It’s a motion sensor, and no one else seems to notice it. Well, except the dog. And he gets in trouble for barking at nothing,” he said with a sigh as they got the signal to come out.

Luppi had to admit, as depressed as he seemed before he went on stage, he was a good actor on stage, falling into the part of the ditzy cheerleader with Luppi. They were actually having a good time until a glass exploded on the stage right beside Ichigo’s foot, making him jump as several shards cut into his calf. They both looked up and despite the glare from the stage lights; it was obvious that there was a guy standing up that had thrown it. Luppi looked out.

“What the fuck?” he said, frowning at whomever it was. All they could see from the stage was a dim outline.

“The fuck is this shit?” came the slightly inebriated voice from the crowd. “Come here to see tits and ass, not some fucking faggot in a skirt.”

Ichigo frowned and glanced at Luppi. It wasn’t the first time that someone had done something like this at a drag show. More than one person didn’t understand that there were two groups, and one was a drag troupe. “Fuckin’ fairy ass bastard,” he yelled, and Luppi saw figures approaching him, no doubt to eject him from the club. “What the fuck good are you, with your loud orange hair and slutty clothes? Fuckin’ cock suckin’ bitch that like ta take it up the ass instead of giving it like a fuckin’ man. But he likes that, don’t worry, little whore. Pansy ass wimp who watches his mother die…”

Luppi saw the stiffness overtake the man beside him and heard the intake of breath. He knew he hadn’t misheard the drunk’s last nearly muttered words. Did the guy know Ichigo? By now, Hiyori had come out and he was fighting her. It didn’t take much to see that she gave him more than a little in return. They couldn’t call the police when she was done with him, because he could have put her in jail. Instead, they tossed his ass out the door after searching him.

While Hiyori dealt with the heckler, Ichigo had run into the back and was in the process of hyperventilating. Findorr and Luppi were hot on his heels, unsure exactly what the hell had just happened. They found him sitting on the floor with his head buried in his knees sobbing, breaths heaving. Findorr and Luppi both were on either side of him in a moment, looking up as both Rin and Grimmjow had come to the back along with Shinji.

“Ichigo, don’t let it get to you,” Luppi said. “That fucker was just a drunk bastard.”

Ichigo shook his head. “He knew about…about it…about her…no one…no one knows that I let her die…” he said, looking up at Luppi with tearful eyes.

Luppi shook her head. “What do you mean, you let her die? What do you mean?”

Ichigo swallowed and squeezed his eyes shut. “I’m losing my mind,” he whispered.

“You aren’t losing your mind, Ichi-baby, come on, what’s going on? Did you know that guy?” Luppi said, rubbing his back as he spoke. Findorr likewise had taken to rubbing his shoulders.

“I watched my mom die,” he said softly, lifting his head up and staring into space. “I should have saved her. I could have. I knew how to take down a man that size…but he shot her, and I…I ran, jumping into the river and screaming, and then they were pulling me out of the freezing water and she was dead already…I could have done something…”

Rin and Luppi exchanged a glance. “Ichi-babe, how old were you?”

“Nine,” he said softly. “But he was right, I just let it happen! I’m useless!”

Luppi grabbed him in a bone-crushing hug, which considering he was a lot bigger than Luppi was an accomplishment. “Shut up, _baka_ ,” he said softly. “You are letting this get to you; he’s some stupid bastard with a problem telling the difference between a show with cocks and pussies.”

Findorr stood up and left Luppi with him and went over to Grimmjow. “Grimm, what exactly is happening?”

Grimmjow shook his head. “Hiyori pulled this off the guy before she tossed him out on his ear,” he said, handing Findorr a printed email. It gave a time, date, and the request to “berate”, with a few facts listed, including that Ichigo had watched his mother die.

“So this is those stalkers?” he asked, looking at him. “The ones that have been messing with him?”

Grimmjow nodded. “He gets texts, emails, all kinds of shit. I try to intercept it, but they’re damned disturbing. We can’t track them at all.”

“I might have someone that can put a crimp in their style,” Findorr said with a grin at the blue haired bounty hunter. “At least temporarily, since they apparently use a computer. Do you think they have one or do you think they use internet cafes?” Findorr asked.

“No idea, but I can’t imagine them loitering for long in internet cafes, too easy to get caught, I’d think,” Grimmjow said with a shrug.

Findorr smiled and nodded, heading away from the back and pulling out his cell. He thumbed down the contacts and came to someone he hadn’t talked to in a while. Choe Neng Poww was a dear friend, and one of the best hackers he’d ever met. Of course, Choe didn’t want that fact advertised. Perhaps he could throw some of his technological know-how into helping Ichigo and his situation.


	15. Falling to Faith

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edits 5-28-14

Ichigo awoke to being licked enthusiastically in the face by Chairo. He blinked and patted the dog on the head. He could handle the dog. He could handle the dog all the time. It was that damn spider that was now encased in a glass aquarium in the next room he had an issue with. It was like some strange thing they didn’t talk about, though. Shiro never went into Wonderweiss’s room anyway, and to be honest seemed mortified by the thought of the spider so much that he seemed to avoid going upstairs at all. Nel just ignored it because Grimmjow had given her the puppy dog eyes and Wonderweiss loved the creepy damned thing.

The question Ichigo wanted an answer to was where the flying fuck did it come from and how the hell did it get into his bed? He shivered as he scratched Chairo’s head. He sighed and looked at the cheerful dog.

“Chairo, I think you’re the only one that seems to agree with me that something is going on. I swear if it weren’t for you I really would think I was losing my mind. There has to be something there, though, if you sense it,” he said with a sigh, pulling the dog to his chest and frowning.

Maybe they were all just ignoring it. He pulled out his phone and cringed again. He wasn’t going to even look. There were fifteen text messages. All would be from different numbers, and each one would be disturbing. He also had six missed calls that left messages. Again, most would be hang-ups or people breathing on the other end, or someone would whisper something. His phone was also telling him he had email at all five of the new accounts he’d opened in the last two months that no one should have known about. And all of them would be from _them_.

Knowing that this all stemmed from one pair of stalkers didn’t help at all, however. He wanted it to just stop. He’d already gone through four phone numbers and he really wanted to figure out how they were getting them. Some were private numbers and he didn’t get how they were getting to him. That was the scary part, though. He was taking the precautions he’d looked up online to protect himself, but it didn’t seem to matter what he did. He was sure that he was going out of his mind though because he was getting completely paranoid.

He sighed and looked at his phone. One of the messages it seemed was from his dad. He didn’t listen, just called him back.

“Yo, pop, what’s up?” he said, ruffing the dog’s fur.

“Hello, son, how are you?” his father’s ever cheery and annoying as hell this morning voice came.

Ichigo shrugged. “Alright I guess. What’d ya need? I saw you called.”

“I just wanted to find out how you felt about the thing between me and Rangiku…” he said tentatively without his trademark goofiness.

It hit Ichigo hard for no reason at all. He blinked and swallowed. His dad and Rangiku had a thing? Since when? How… He guessed this was how his dad felt when he came out to him. “Um, what about it? You like each other, right?” he said, trying to keep the sudden sadness out of his voice.

“Yeah, but I just…” he started.

“Pop, you’ve been alone a long time, if you find you like someone, go for it,” he said, smiling and hoping the smile transferred to his voice.

They talked a few more minutes and then he hung up. “Chairo, even my pop can find someone he loves. I’m just out of luck, it seems,” he said sadly as he stood and went downstairs for some lunch, letting Chairo go at the bottom of the stairs. He bounded into the living room where Wonderweiss was watching TV again.

He went down to find that Grimmjow and Shiro was both gone, and the broad Edrad was sitting at the counter with Nel. Ichigo hadn’t seen much of him, but did it matter? They were with Grimmjow. He slid onto the barstool and smiled at Nel. She quickly served him lunch and he ate in silence.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

“We’re getting nowhere fast,” Shiro said with an exasperated sigh at the rest of his INTERPOL team.

Zangetsu shook his head. “We know that, Shiro, but every lead we follow up on is a bust. We’ve got Bambietta’s trail of arson to follow, as usual, but we can’t tie her to anything,” he said with a deep sigh.

Grimmjow sat at the end of the table by Shiro. “We’re against the wire. They’ve never taken this long to grab someone. Why are they taking their sweet time with Ichigo?” he said, knowing all too well that three or four weeks was their general timeframe. It had been longer this time.

Tensa shook his head. “The only thing I can guess is that Ichigo’s too well adjusted and not showing that he’s breaking down yet. You know she likes to pick them up just after they’ve hit their breaking point.”

Grimmjow nodded. Ichigo had been incredibly resistant and keep right on with his life no matter what. The strain was beginning to show, however. “I don’t know, it might not take much more. He’s sick a lot now, and jumpy as all fuck. Did you see the report of the damn tarantula?”

Tensa sighed, running a hand through is dark hair. “And you have no idea how they got in?”

“No more than you have any idea where the bloody thing came from,” Grimmjow said with a sigh.

“I might have something on that,” Zangetsu said, opening a file. “There’s a guy on our watch list, Sōsuke Aizen, possible Yakuza boss, but of course, the best we can do is try and get him on financial crap. One of his shell companies is an exotic pet import and export company. We’re pretty sure he’s using the route to launder offshore monies. It would be easy to come by that sort of tarantula for that company. I’m sending Tensa to go talk to the owner of a pet shop that gets their stock primarily from them, see if they’re missing any stock.”

Grimmjow nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

Shiro winced. “Can’t we give it back?”

Grimmjow looked at him. “Wonderweiss loves the thing, named it and everything, no we’re not giving it back. Those things cost a fortune.”

Shiro swallowed nervously. “As long as it stays in the aquarium.”

Grimmjow rolled his eyes. “They’re not dangerous. Not really, Hana used to have a couple different ones. He never got a cobalt but he adored them.”

“Don’t care, fucker’s got eight legs, lots of fuckin’ eyes and I don’t want it anywhere near me,” Shiro said with a violent shiver. “Cannot stand spiders.”

“Okay, enough, we’re trying to work here, you two, back on the kid. I’ll see what we can dig up on the pet shop link. Anything comes up, call me immediately,” Zangetsu said, standing up and heading out with Tensa, leaving Shiro and Grimmjow sitting alone with their individual thoughts.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

A shorter blonde man in a tan suit stepped out of the cab outside the warehouse style building. He straightened his jacket and looked around. He guessed he was in the right place. Nnoitra said to be here around four, and that this was apparently where he worked. He went up to the door and knocked. He was startled by a huge man who also had an eye patch and spiked black hair.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“Um, I’m here to see Nnoitra, I’m Tesla…” he said, swallowing nervously.

The big man nodded. “Come in, then.”

He stepped past the monstrous man and was soon lifted off the ground. He gasped and realized Nnoitra found him. “Hey, Tesla, how the hell are you?” Nnoitra said with a grin as he set him back on his feet.

Lisa came out and looked up from her yaoi manga briefly. “Who’s this? Don’t tell me you’re finding fuck toys outside Las Noches now?”

Nnoitra snickered. “Nah, this is Tesla, we grew up together. He used ta match me; he’s done lost an eye too. But don’t tell him he’s just trying to be like me. That’s why he got the fancy prosthetic he wears now. Not that I’d blame him for wanting to be like me.”

Tesla sighed. “I, however, did not lose my eye out of sheer stupidity.”

“How did you lose your eye, Nnoitra?” Ichigo asked, having overheard him as he walked past toward the back with Ggio and Luppi. All three stopped to listen.

Nnoitra smiled. “Firecrackers, bitches. I shot myself in the damn face with firecrackers. That old stupid saying that you’ll put out your eye with ‘em? I had to go and prove my mother right.”

Ichigo grinned. He loved talking to Nnoitra. “And how did you lose your eye, if you don’t mind me asking?” he said to the other man.

“I had ocular cancer a few years ago. Unfortunately, they couldn’t save my eye. I wore an eye patch for a while, but that’s when I lived here with Nnoitra. People were always trying to say I was faking it, just trying to be like him. I mean, he was pretty popular in school,” Tesla said with a shrug.

“Then that stupid fucker came up and ripped your patch off in the middle of the sidewalk that day, remember that?” Nnoitra said with a grin. “I punched that fucker right in the face.”

Tesla nodded. “Yeah, that’s when I decided to get the prosthetic eye. Wasn’t my fault that I happened to lose my eye like that. Anyway, it’s been long enough; I’m used to it now. I can’t really tell what it was like to have my two eyes anymore.”

Ichigo smiled and waved. “Gotta get dressed for the show, nice to meet you Tesla,” he said and headed to the back, followed by Luppi who also waved.

Ggio stayed and talked to him for a minute, though. He was intrigued by others who had been healed from damage. He supposed it was in his nature.

“Tesla, are you in town for a while?” he asked him as he was about to head to the back.

Tesla nodded. “Yeah, I’m staying with Nnoitra.”

“If you’re here after I come off stage, maybe we should have a drink, and talk a bit,” he said with a soft smile. He hoped he wasn’t reading him completely wrong. He hated it when he ended up hitting on straight guys.

“Oh, sure, I’m planning on staying for the Burlesque show afterward!” he said with a grin. “Nnoitra’s my ride, after all!”

Ggio nodded and headed to the back. He smiled to himself. Whether it was a possible romance or just a friendship, he was always happy to find interesting people. Speaking of interesting, he thought to himself as he came around to the back to nearly be knocked flat by Ichigo as he ran past him, half dressed with one hand clamped over his mouth.

“Ichigo?” came the concerned voice of Uryuu from the dress area. He then padded past Ggio and into the bathroom. Ggio frowned and followed him as well to see what was going on.

As soon as he entered, he heard the sound of Ichigo voiding his stomach rather violently. He winced. Never a good sign. He had a feeling his being sick had nothing to do with an actual illness, and more to do with the people who were stalking him. He saw Uryuu standing behind him in one of the stalls, muttering and rubbing his back. He sighed and left them alone. It seemed he had all the help he needed at the moment.

“Ichigo, how long has this been happening?” Uryuu asked as Ichigo laid his head on his arm where it sat on the seat.

“I dunno, I just can’t seem to keep anything down, and the pins, when you…you…” he muttered and lurched upward to dry heave again.

Uryuu kneeled now, and pulled his hair back into his hairclip where it had come loose to fall into his face. He was panting as he sat down hard with his back against the stall wall.   “The pins?”

Ichigo nodded. “It just…I got an email, from them, you know, and…I guess it was a picture of one of…of the others…and they…they’d taken pins…” Ichigo winced. “And they’d put them everywhere, even into his eyeballs…and it just came at me when you poked me with the pin.”

“Good Kami, Ichigo? Really? What other shit have you gotten? Did you tell Grimmjow?” he asked, pushing his hair out of his face again.

Ichigo shook his head. “I don’t have to, he…he gets copies of everything I get. And just pictures and messages. I try to ignore them, but sometimes I see one of them when I go to delete them…like that one.”

Uryuu took off his glasses and cleaned them thoughtfully. “Maybe you shouldn’t go on tonight, Ichi.”

“No,” Ichigo said with wide eyes. “No, I mean, this is the only time that keeps me sane. If I didn’t have Las Noches, I swear, I’d have lost my damn mind by now, Uryuu. Grimmjow said…he said that they usually kidnapped their victims after three weeks. You know how long since this started?” he asked.

Uryuu shook his head. “The dress, right?” he asked.

Ichigo nodded. “Yeah, and that was almost five weeks ago. So if I can keep it together, maybe they’ll leave me alone. I mean, they didn’t kill Ggio because they couldn’t break him. Maybe…maybe if I can hold on long enough they’ll get tired of me and just…leave.”

“I don’t know, Ichigo, you’re not doing so well. You’ve lost a lot of weight, and now I know why if you’re throwing up all the time.   You jump at your shadow, and you talk to yourself when no one is around…” he said gently.

“I what?” he said, looking up.

“You talk to yourself when no one is around. I’ve seen it. I don’t know what you’re saying but you stop as soon as you hear someone come in,” the raven haired boy said with a sigh. “This is really getting to you.”

Ichigo swallowed. “I know. Believe me I know that.”

He got to his feet shakily and took a breath. “Okay, finish fixing me up, I’m going out there tonight.”

Uryuu started to argue, but he knew from experience, the set of his jaw and that scowl across his brow meant there was no changing his mind. He admired him for being so strong in the face of all this. However, even the strongest person was going to break given enough time and pressure. He just hoped Ichi wasn’t one of them.

He shook his head and finished getting him dressed and looked up as Illfordt and Szayel came in and sat down for their fitting. Ichigo was silent, and then headed off to see Charlotte about his makeup. Illfordt got up on the dais and Uryuu started fixing the hem on the pantsuit he was wearing.

“Oh, I was going to ask you about Cirucci,” Szayel said from where he sat at the edge. “Wasn’t she released from that facility?”

Illfordt smiled. “Yeah, she was. She’s doing much better, but she’s stayed there for now. She’s got some good friends and support for her problems. She even went and joined a theater troupe. She said it was helping her deal with her depression and sadness. I’m proud of her.”

Uryuu listened as the brothers continued to talk. It was nice that someone had managed to heal. He only hoped Ichigo could heal as well.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Nel had a surprise for Wonderweiss when he got home from school the next day on Friday. Sajin had come in to listen to Kirakaze at the club that night, and after dropping Tōsen off with Shuuhei while they did practice sets, he’d come to visit Wonderweiss and Chairo. He was a little off by the change in his Friday schedule, but he really like Sajin. He seemed so patient and kind to Wonderweiss.

They decided to head to the park and have a picnic together and let Chairo run around while Wonderweiss looked for new bugs. They packed up sandwiches and plenty of water and headed out. The wather was mild enough that they would really enjoy it. Strangely, Nel found herself growing more fond of Sajin every time they met. Perhaps it was the kindness in his eyes, and the gentleness he had with animals and with Wonderweiss. Before either realized it, they were walking hand in hand behind Wonderweiss and Chairo. It was odd, the first time she’d held hands with someone who didn’t expect anything out of her, and it felt…nice. He glanced at her and smiled, and suddenly, she realized that she might have found someone that understood her and honestly didn’t expect things of her she couldn’t provide. Maybe they would make good companions after all.

“Well, if it isn’t the woman who stole our son,” came a voice from up ahead that made both Wonderweiss and Nel freeze. Sajin stopped and stared at the two people who had stopped directly in front of Wonderweiss and Chairo.

“Mr. and Mrs. Margela,” Nel said with venom dripping from her tone. “So good to see you again.”

“No it isn’t,” the woman said. She was a tall, thin woman with straight blonde hair, about the same color as Wonderweiss’s hair.

Wonderweiss just stared at them. “What do you want?” he asked, picking up Chairo and clutching him to his chest.

“Just happened to see our son walking around and thought we’d say hi,” the dark haired man beside he said. He was shorter with a large pot belly.

Mrs. Margela stepped forward and smiled at him. “You’ve gotten so big, honey. Are you sure you don’t want to come back with us? You’ve turned into a fine young man.”

“Yeah, how do you ever get him to behave? I mean, what, have you got him on drugs?” asked the man beside her, looking up to Nel.

“I most certainly do not have him on ‘drugs’ to make him behave. All he needed was a home where his caretakers didn’t beat him,” Nel said, obviously bristling. Sajin’s hand tightened on hers.

The woman rolled her eyes. “Please, all he needed was a little correction. I can’t help it if the laws here are so…strict. Not like back home in Germany. A few bruises never hurt anyone.”

Nel had honestly hoped to never encounter Wonderweiss’s birth parents again. He’d already been adopted by her, and had her last name. “I’m from Germany,” Nel said with a growl to her voice. “And there, beating your child just because you can’t understand he has autism is still not acceptable.”

The man snorted. “If you believe that. Let him come back to Italy with me, my family will teach him the proper respect, I always said,” he said to his wife. “But you insisted we stay here.”

“Well, now that he’s grown out of it, he should come live with his real parents. You aren’t even married, dear, what kind of home is that for a boy his age?” the woman said with a flip of her blonde hair over her shoulder.

“You are not my parents,” Wonderweiss said evenly.

The two people in front of him gaped. “What? What did you say you…you little monster?” the woman gasped.

“I said, you are not my parents. My words were quite clear. I have a new family. You gave birth to me, in a biological sense, but in an emotional sense you were never a parent to me. You did not love me like Nel does. Love does not include screaming at someone. Love does not include hitting someone. Love is what I have now, not what you gave me before. I have Nel, her brother Grimmjow, Chairo here, Sajin, Ichigo, his sisters, and Azura.”

“Azura? What is that, some prostitute that lives with you? And Ichigo? Who is that? There was no one with that name involved.” his birth mother said with a huff.

“Azura is my cobalt tarantula that is almost the size of your head. Ichigo is going to be Grimmjow’s husband eventually when he figures out he loves him. So I suggest you move along and let me and my real family continue with our outing,” he said and walked past them.

Nel blinked and exchanged looks with Sajin and followed, leaving the two Margelas behind them completely shocked into silence.   To be honest, he’d surprised Nel too. They still had nightmares and fears, and Nel always dreaded this very incident of accidently meeting the Margelas in public without lawyers around. Instead, Wonderweiss had stood up for himself and surprised her greatly. She looked at Sajin and smiled. Maybe this day was going to be a beautiful one after all.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

It was Friday night, and Luppi had the night off. He was so excited. He’d promised Rin that he was going to take him out on a real date. Luppi hadn’t quite been this excited about a date in a long time. Rin needed it. Luppi was taking him for Thai, his absolute favorite food. So he dressed down, because he knew all too well that the last think Rin needed was attention drawn to them in public. He chose some black jeans and a loose gray hoodie with Pantera on the back. He picked out some jeans and a t-shirt for Rin and handed them over. A few minutes later, he emerged and looked nervous.

Luppi smiled. “Hey, sugar, no pressure. Just going to a small little place I adore. Promise, no crowds, and you’ll enjoy it.”

Rin wasn’t sure, but he felt like he owed Luppi for the courtesy of letting him stay in his apartment. Granted it was a nice apartment, far nicer than his own, but he couldn’t imagine that Luppi didn’t expect him to pay for anything. And now, he was taking him out to dinner.

They got out of the cab in front of a small place, a name over the door in something that Rin couldn’t read. Luppi held his hand loosely and led him into the dimly lit place. There were a few patrons, but especially for a Friday night it seemed rather empty. They were seated immediately and Luppi looked over the menu.

“You ever eat Thai?” he asked, laying it down.

Rin shook his head. “No, I’ve never actually been to a Thai place…”

Luppi grinned. “Well, I recommend you avoid anything with that little pepper symbol, that’s the hottest stuff,” he said, pointing inside the menu.

“I usually get spicy chicken at the Chinese places…” Rin said thoughtfully.

“Sugar, this isn’t the same. Thai can be very spicy. I adore it, but some people can’t handle it. I really loved it when we went to Thailand, it was probably one of the nicest and most accepting places the circus ever went to. However, more than one of the group ended up with ulcers after all that way too spicy food! You kind of have to get used to it before you dive right in. How about a…coconut milk curry chicken, you said you like chicken?” Luppi said with a grin.

Rin nodded. “I do.”

“Don’t worry, it will still be spicy, just not burn off your tongue spicy like mine,” he said with a grin. When the waitress came back he ordered and they waited for their food.

“What was Thailand like?” Rin asked with a shy smile.

Luppi grinned and told him extensive stories about his time traveling with the circus. He told him about how Thailand was his favorite, and that the people there were all nice to them. He explained that Germany and France had been interesting, too, but they’d encountered more discriminatory issues there. By the time he’d finished, they’d finished eating.

Rin sighed and blushed a bit. “I…wanted to thank you.”

Luppi looked up. “For what?” he asked with a smile.

“Everything. I mean, you let me sleep in your bed, for goodness sakes. I mean, that’s something, and you don’t try to…you know…and it just…I’ve never experienced someone like you. You’re different,” he said with another shy smile as the server cleared away their dishes.

Luppi smiled and ordered a desert for them to share. When they were done, they headed back to Luppi’s apartment. They headed back to Luppi’s place and as they entered Rin turned and kissed Luppi quickly on the lips. Luppi gasped and stepped back.

Rin frowned at him. “Did I do something wrong?” he asked nervously, blushing again.

Luppi shook his head. “No, no, it was nice, I just…I don’t want you to think you have to do anything for me, Rin. I don’t want you to go out of your comfort zone, you know.”

Rin nodded. “I know, but that’s not why I kissed you.”

Now Luppi was a bit confused. “It’s not?” he asked, tilting his head to the side thoughtfully. “So why’d you do it?”

Rin smiled shyly. “I think I like you, maybe a lot, Luppi.”

Luppi swallowed. “Oh?” he asked, a smile coming to his lips.

“And…I think that it might be okay if we…did more than sleep in the same bed,” he said, looking down and away, a light blush lighting up his pale cheeks.

Luppi frowned. “Rin, are you sure you’re ready for that? I mean, it hasn’t…”

Rin blushed deeper. “I…I just don’t think I could be…you know, on the bottom if we did anything.”

Luppi blinked then grinned. “Well, then, isn’t it a good thing I like to be top and bottom?”

Rin looked up, his eyes wide. “You mean that? I’ve never, well you know, done the top before, and I thought maybe you liked that, so I didn’t want to say anything if you didn’t like…”

Luppi stopped his mouth with a touch of his fingers to his lips. “Rin, honey, shh. I am perfectly fine being fucked by you. And when you’re comfortable, if you ever are comfortable enough, I will be perfectly fine fucking you into the bed. Only when you want me to, though, sweetheart. And if you never are okay with that, that’s okay with me. I’ll be yours either way.”

Rin blinked and blushed bright red this time and nodded. Luppi grinned and led him into the bedroom, shutting the door behind them.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

                Ichigo couldn’t miss it. No one could miss it, he thought. Everywhere, it seemed, everyone had someone they could lean on, depend on, love. Except, of course, for him. He’d never thought of himself as the envious type. Yet, here he sat, watching as Tesra and Ggio chatted away at a nearby table before the club opened. A few minutes later, Luppi and Rin walked in, and by the hand holding and the permanent blush on Rin’s face, it seemed that they, too had found something special. His dad was dating Rangiku, of all people. For fuck’s sake, he thought with a heavy sigh. Both his sisters were dating someone! Karin and Jinta weren’t “dating” yet, but it was obvious they were into each other. Then Yuzu and Lillinette were glued at the hip these days. He looked up as Apacci and Findorr came by, wrapped around each other as usual. He sighed and let his head fall with a thump to the table.

                A few minutes later he felt a presence beside him. He looked up and saw Shiro sitting there, arms folded and staring at him.

                “What’s up, Strawberry?” he asked.

                Ichigo shook his head. “Just feeling…left out.”

                Shiro frowned. “Left out? Of what?”

                Ichigo waved around him. “The love connection. Everyone’s fucking pairing off. Even my goddamned pop has found someone.”

                Shiro shrugged. “I’ll be yours, Ichi-berry.”

                Ichigo sighed. “You aren’t a relationship kind, Shiro. You like sex.”

                “Well, yeah,” Shiro said with a grin. “What do you like?”

                “I want someone…someone to just be there, be my friend, my lover, my everything, and to hold me when I’m sad, and be with me when I’m happy, and just…I want more than a one night stand, Shiro,” he said sighing again.

                “So, you’re a romantic,” Shiro said. “And you want romance, not a rough fuck in the back room?”

                Ichigo groaned and let his head thump onto the table again. “Something I’ll never get with fucking serial killers after me. Who starts a relationship with someone marked for death? I should just let you have your ‘rough fuck’ so I don’t die a virgin,” he grumbled, startling Shiro.

                “Wait, what?” Shiro said, leaning forward.

                Ichigo turned his head and glared at him. “You heard me. Now go on, leave me alone so I can sulk in privacy.”

                Shiro nodded silently, for once unsure what to say and walked over to where Grimmjow was standing against the wall. He knew the big blue haired idiot was watching Ichigo.

                “Blueberry, um, you know that Ichi-Berry’s a virgin, right?” Shiro said, leaning against the wall beside him.

                Grimmjow turned toward him. “What?”

                “Um, yeah, he’s over there whining about everyone having a love life except him, then he commented how he wasn’t interested in one night stands. I was teasing him, and said something about him wanting a relationship instead of a fuck in the back. He said he was marked for death, so he’d never have a relationship, so he should probably take that fuck in the back so he didn’t die a virgin,” Shiro said softly, ensuring that no one else could hear and Ichigo couldn’t see that he was talking to Grimmjow.

                “But…if Opie gets his hands on him…” Grimmjow said with wide eyes.

                “Yeah, we both know what he’ll do to him; especially if he finds out he’s untouched. You know how absolutely vicious he is with the inexperienced ones,” Shiro said, scratching the back of his white head. “Man, he’s going downhill fast. And I think he knows it, Blue.”

                Shiro looked at the bigger man. “I don’t know how to help, Shiro, I mean, what do I do? I can’t tell him it will be okay. We don’t know that.”

                Shiro shook his head. “How about you get that big blue head out of your fucking ass and tell him that you got feelings for him before its too damned late. If he’s gonna die, at least let him know someone cares about him the way he wants them to. I mean, you don’t have to sleep with him, just, let him know you care. That’s what he needs more than anything, Blue. The way you’re on his case all the time, he just thinks you’re wrapped up in trying to catch a killer. I don’t think he knows that its more than that. Why do you think he gets so angry with you? He likes you.”

                Grimmjow started to say something but Shiro walked away leaving him staring after him. He had no idea what to do. No idea at all. His heart and his head were locked in battle with each other, and the winner had yet to be decided.


	16. Swinging on a Trapeze

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edits 6-9-14

 

Ichigo needed something to divert his mind from everything desperately. School was going terribly. He found himself unable to concentrate during classes for anything, and ended up spending more time sitting outside in the courtyards under the sakura trees than he did in his classes. He wasn’t quite sure why, but being boxed into a little room with twenty other people was something he didn’t need at the moment. He sighed and rubbed his head as he watched the world move around him and he felt so stuck. He looked at his watch. It was time to meet Grimmjow and go back home, then change and head to Las Noches. It was going to be a slow night, no doubt, since it was a Monday, but he just really felt the need to get away. He couldn’t stand staying cooped up in the house more than completely necessary.

He kept going over everything about Grimmjow in his head, again and again. He wondered what was really going on in the stupid bluenette’s head. Was what he heard him talk to Shiro about the truth? Was Shiro right? Did he really care about him like that? He wasn’t sure. He didn’t know; he was so confused about the whole thing. And Grimmjow wasn’t helping. He’d been quiet and sulky ever since the last time they fought over that stupid presentation. He saw him leaning against the black car and sighed. He felt like a kid being picked up by their dad at school. Wait, no, that was a rather sick anology considering that the only thing he thougth of when he saw Grimmjow was what his lips would feel like.

Grimmjow nodded to him as he opened the door for him. Ichigo sat down with his books clutched to his chest for a long moment before he pulled the seatbelt on. He sighed and sat there with a sullen expression as Grimmjow got in and drove him home. Home? Was that what he was calling it now? He frowned. He missed his dad and his sisters, but Nel, Wonderweiss, Grimmjow, and Shiro had become a part of his life so much too. He was so confused. Was this what it was like to be a grownup out on his own? Of course, most grownups weren’t be stalked by murderers.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

        “Ichi, Ichi!” came Luppi’s voice across the floor as Ichigo came into the back. He looked up to see a very excited looking Luppi pulling Rin along with him, who was smiling shyly.

        “Hey, what’s up?” Ichigo asked trying his best to smile at him.

        “You wanted to see the circus before it was open, right? My folks came into town with the Show today; they’ll start setting up tomorrow. Want to come by then? I know you’re off tomorrow night!” he said with a wide smile.

        Ichigo grinned in response. “Oh, that would be wonderful? Can I bring my sisters and Wonderweiss with me? They’d love it!”

Luppi nodded. “Of course! Whoever you want to come, they’d be glad to let you come by and check out what they do! We usually don’t let non circus people in ahead of time, but since you’re my friends, my parents don’t care.”

Luppi took off and Ichigo glanced over at Grimmjow, but the bounty hunter’s eyes were on the floor and he had no particular expression. He sighed. Maybe Shiro was wrong and Grimmjow didn’t care beyond finding these murderers and revenging the murder of his lost lover. Ichigo sighed. Maybe he’d fall in love with someone at the circus and he could run off with Luppi’s family. He could do a decent acrobatics act if he tried, he bet.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

When they got out of their cars, there was more than one exclamation of amazement at the site before them. The Zanpaktou Spirit Show had been set up at the largest open area right outside Karakura Town. They were just really getting set up as the show didn’t open for a few days until Friday, so not all the tents and stalls were up yet. People were busy everywhere, pulling things off trucks, and in the distance, Ichigo saw someone walking a pair of horses around in the back part of the open field. Luppi called to them and showed them inside the big top that would be the main act when they opened.

Ichigo had brought Karin and Yuzu, who had brought Jinta and Lillinette, of course. Wonderweiss, Nel, Grimmjow, and Shiro had all come as well. With Wonderweiss, of course was Chairo. Ichigo had never in his life seen a dog so incredibly well behaved and trained. He was more than a little impressed with Sajin’s training ability. Ichigo saw the Rin was already there watching as the trapeze was set up.

“Ma!” Luppi yelled and a woman slid down the ladder and came over toward them. She smiled at them.

“Oh, Luppi, are these your friends?” she asked. “Nice to meet you, I’m Suzumebachi, Suzy please, though my stage name is the Hornet. I do a lot of free flying and do an iron jaw trick at the begining of the show in my hornet costume.”

Ichigo shook her hand and Luppi introduced everyone all around. She was pretty, slender with a pair of brown pigtails. There was a crash nearby and she looked over.

“Kazeshini!” she yelled. “Watch it with those! You may be the Wind of Death on the trapeze, but we don’t need you bringing death to everything in the tent!”

“I am being careful, woman!” came a growly voice from the back of the tent and a tall man with wild black hair and an armload of metal rods of some sort. “Jeeze, woman,” he muttered. He smiled at Luppi. “Hey sugar, good to see ya,” he said and laid them down and went back out.

“Here, come on guys, I’ll give you the tour while they finish setting up. I know all the side show folks have unpacked already. Come on!” he said, leading the group into another large tent where there was a huge man, taller than Kenpachi, which Ichigo thought was rare, standing in the middle of the room with a very tiny man on his shoulder.

Luppi walked up and pulled on the large man’s shirt. He looked down. He had to be seven and a half foot tall if he was an inch. He smiled and set the smaller man down on the ground.

“Luppi! Good to see you! You brought some friends by? Your mom said you would,” he said with a clap to the small Luppi’s back. Luppi grinned and introduced everyone to him first.

“This is, Tenken, his act is Titan and Imp, and this is his partner, Ashisogi Jizō, but we call him Ash,” he said, motioning to the short man of the pair.

Where Tenken stood over seven feet, the other half of the act stood less than three foot in height. They chatted a bit and then Luppi steered them toward another big man with bulging muslces. “This is Gegetsuburi, his stage name is Atlas, and he’s the strong man. He can lift more than anyone I’ve ever seen.”

Luppi led them into another area where several people were sitting around a table. “Sis!” Luppi said, moving forward and gripping a younger girl with short hair with a grin. “Mom told you I was bringing some people by, I hope?”

She nodded. “Nice to meet you all, I’m Tobiume, Luppi’s sister. I’m also the Flamestress, so I do the trapeze and then I also do the fire eating act.”

Beside her a woman with dark hair waved up at them. “I’m Minazuki, the contortionist. My stage name is the Boneless woman for obvious reasons,” she said, dropping her dark eyed stare back to her hands.

Beside her a very quiet looking man with a very feminine appeal smiled at them. He had hair that had been dyed a peacock blue and brilliant violet eyes. “Ruri'iro Kujaku,” he said, “I’m one of the acrobats and trapeze artists. My stage handle is Peacock, and I also work with the birds,” he said, motioning to the dark blueish black hair.

Wonderweiss perked up at his comment. “You have birds?” he asked.

Rur’iro nodded. “Yes, we do. A pair of trained falcons and sometimes an Amazon parrot, but Keylee’s molting right now.”

Wonderweiss looked thoughtful. “Falconeering is a very old tradition. Falcons have many species as a raptor. What type of Falcons are they?”

“Well, I’m impressed. Most people don’t realize there’s a difference in them. We have a perrigrin named Dobby and a saker named Kreecher,” he said with a smile.

Wonderweiss looked at him for a moment. “You use popular culture references to name them.”

The Peacock grinned. “They’re my babies; I had to name them after something I loved. Kreecher is a pain in the ass sometimes, surly little bastard. And Dobby is just as sweet as she can be.”

They looked up to see a pair of women come walking in, the taller of which was twirling a knife around the tip of her finger. They both stopped and came to hug Luppi. “Oh my goodness, you are looking beautiful, my dear,” the taller one said. She looked those gathered with a smile. “I’m Katen and this is my sister Kyōkotsu. We do the One Eyed Blades act,” she said, smiling and flipping her patch over her eye while beside her the shorter woman did the same to her opposite eye. The taller one was dressed extravagantly and with flowing clothes, while the shorter wore tight fitting clothes similar to a gi. She didn’t seem to talk either. They excused themselves and moved on.

Luppi took them into the main part of the tent where there were a couple people practicing. They watched as a tall man with black hair worked with sword swallowing. Luppi leaned over toward them. “That’s Senbozakura, called The Samurai on stage; he does sword swallowing and demonstrations. And over there is Wabisuke, he’s called the Pain-Proof man,” Luppi said, pointing to a man in a solid black outfit with black hair that fell into his face. He was cleaning a set of needles, pins, and all sorts of sharp looking objects. “Then, over there, that’s Hyōrinmaru,” he said pointing to a man dressed in white robes who was unpacking his booth, which was covered in ice looking décor. “He’s Jack Frost, he’s immune to cold. Beside him, in the next space, that’s Electro, Koga’s his real name, he’s immune to electricity. Its amazing, you can put a live wire on him, and stick a light bulb in his mouth and it comes on!” Luppi said, indicating a large man who was unpacking wires and electrical devices, no doubt to show his ability.

“Luppi! No one…”

“Told us you’d be…”

“Here today!” came two voices behind them. They all turned to see a pair of twins, and apparently, conjoined twins. They walked up and gave Luppi a hug.

“Guys, this is Sōgyo and Kotowari, they’re the Pisces Twins. They were born like this, attached from shoulder to elbow,” he said, indicating where their clothing merged and covered their arm that they shared. They each had a separate hand and forearm, though, but it was attached above it.

“We’ll see you later…”

“At the practice because…”

“We’ll come by to watch…”

“Like we always do!” they said with a smile and a bow as they left.

Ichigo turned to Luppi. “I never realized that this stuff was so real…” he said.

Luppi smiled, “Yeah, I know, want to see the horses and the dogs?”

Wonderweiss’s head came up when he said it and he followed with interest as they were lead into the area behind the Big Top, which he called the Back Yard. “Benehime!” Luppi yelled to a woman who was riding a pair of horses with one foot on each one. She steered them back and did a quick flip off them to land in front of the group of visitors.

“Luppi! How are you, love?” she said. She was a beautiful woman, pale skin with vibrant red hair and a quick smile.

“Good, I wanted to introduce my friends to you. Benehime is the Blood Princess of the Horses. She does an amazing act out there!” Luppi said.

“Yes, well,” she said with a smile. “Gonryōmaru is inside the other tent with his dogs if you want to see him.”

He chatted with her a minute then led the group into the back tent where they were met with barking.

“Calm down!” a stern looking man in the back yelled at the cacophony. The dogs quieted immediately. There looked to be all sorts of small dogs, several poodles, border collies, and quite a few mutts. There looked to be about ten or eleven dogs all together.

“Luppi!” the stern man said, breaking his visage into a smile that definitely didn’t look like it belonged there. “How are you?”

“I’m fine Gonry. These are my friends; I was giving them the full tour before the show opens this weekend. Ichigo here was interested in the backstage workings,” he said with a smile.

“That’s sweet of you Luppi, you always think of your friends. Well, have fun, got to get this bunch back to practicing. You’d think we’d been on the road a year, the way they act!” he said with a grin.

Wonderweiss looked at Nel. “Can I watch them practice a bit?” he asked as the Hound Master went back to training the dogs. “I can teach Chairo a couple tricks, perhaps.”

Nel smiled. “Of course, I’ll stay here with you.”

The rest of the group exited the Hound Master’s tent and headed toward the grounds where they saw a group of four people in jeans and t-shirts messing around with a chest full of props. Luppi waved at them. “Hey guys!” he yelled.

One of them, a young man with wild strawberry blonde hair and a grin came running over and hugged Luppi, lifting him clear off the ground. “You’re back!” he said.

“Yes, Kon, hey these are my friends from the cabaret I work at,” he said. “Guys this is Kon, he’s one of the clowns, and this is Noba, the mime clown,” he said pointing to a dark haired man with a wrap around his lower jaw that covered his mouth.

Beside Noba was a tiny girl with blonde hair. “I’m Ririn, and the big duffus here,” she said, pointing to a tall man with glasses and a top hat, is my brother Kurodo. We’re the only clowns so we try to make it fun. We do work with the acrobats a lot, though.”

Luppi and the four clowns talked for a while longer and Ichigo looked around. It was amazing; the place was literally taking shape before his eyes. The workers were putting up tents, building booths, putting in sales wares, and putting in food stalls. Ichigo swore he saw someone watching him for a moment but shook it away. That was ridiculous. He was sure there were plenty people curious about them, they were outsiders. Ichigo smiled as Nel and Wonderweiss caught up with them. Wonderweiss looked quite pleased with himself.

He smiled at Ichigo as he came up with Chairo. “Chairo learned to dance, see,” he said, and the dog stood up and started prancing like the trained pooches. Ichigo grinned and ruffled Wonderweiss’s hair.

“Okay, come on guys, they said that Don Konoji, our Ringmaster, and Muramasa, our Barker, are both in the Big Top. I’ll introduce you to them!” Luppi said, leading them into the Big Top once again.

Inside a woman with lots of curly hair looked up from her conversation with an extremely pale woman in white. She smiled and waved at them, coming over, followed by the woman in white. She smiled and spoke in a decidedly deep voice for a woman. Once she was closer, Ichigo could see she was well built and almost six foot tall.

“Guys, this is Zabimaru, also known as Serpentine, she’s the Snake Lady, and this is Sodo no Shirayuki, and she does the Human Cannonball act,” Luppi said with a smile.

“Good to meet you,” the white clad woman said with a smile and a bow.

“Sure, you’re Luppi’s new crew, so you’re alright by us,” the tall Zabimaru said. “You come in to see Don and Mura?” she asked.

“Yeah, and then I was going to take them over and show them some of the stuff I used to do, maybe let Ichigo here see what the tightrope’s like,” Luppi said, dropping a wink at Ichigo.

Ichigo grinned broadly because that would be awesome. They walked toward the middle where a man with round glasses and a cape and top hat was discussing something with a dour looking man in a gray suit. He looked up and smiled.

“Luppi!” he said, and Ichigo realized that he had a small monkey on his shoulder. “And you must be his good friends!” the flamboyant man said with a grin. The other man just stared at them. “I am the most illustrious and fanciful Don Konoji,” he said, bowing and sweeping his hat off. He straightening and the monkey chittered in his ear. “Oh, and this is Lil Don. Lil Don and I have been together a long time. Poor thing, I took him when we were in Thailand from an exotic animal sanctuary we visited. He took to me immediately after his mom rejected him. I’ve never had a better friend, and boy can he make some noise when the crowds get in here! And this dour man is Muramasa, our barker. Believe it or not, he’s actually quite loud.”

Luppi and the two chatted a little more about what had been going on and then Luppi led them to where the tightrope was and pointed up. “That thing is intimidating, but that’s why we have this,” he said, pointing to a low tightrope that was strung under the high rope about two feet high. “The clown acts often do tricks on the low tightrope and fall off and roll around, you know.”

“You guys wait here, I’m going up to grab my pop and maybe swing across a couple times,” he said, turning and going up the ladder to the trapeze set near them. Ichigo watched in amazement that the slight man could move so fast and easy up a straight ladder like that. A few minutes later, they did indeed see him flying across the expanse above the net and then he and a bigger man dropped down into the net. They both slid off and came over to where Ichigo and the others were.

“And this is my dad, Hōzukimaru, or the Flying Demon as he’s known,” Luppi said with a smile. “I thought I could let them try out the low rope to see how they do with it. Ichigo here and his sisters are pretty spry and athletic.”

“Sure, Luppi, just make sure you hold onto them when they start off and see if they can go across alone. This things known for twisting ankles of the unwary!” he said with a grin and headed off.

Luppi rolled his eyes. “I’ve fallen off this rope so many times, tuck and role if you fall, its only two feet.”

Luppi hopped easily up and walked over to show them how to do it. Karin was first to try, and she managed to do pretty well, considering she’d never done any balance work. Jinta fell off at the first step and opted not to try again. Lillinette didn’t have much better luck, jumping down after the second step. Yuzu made it across, with a little help from Lillinette on one side and Luppi on the other.

“Ready?” Luppi said with a grin.

Ichigo nodded and stepped up and steadied himself on Luppi’s arm and then grinned. He had it. He had always had great balance, so it was no wonder he could do this. He’d done the balance beam really well when he was in gymnastics. He walked like he’d seen Luppi do. He looked up and grinned because he was actually doing something really normal for a change. Well, if one could call tightrope walking normal. Considering his last few weeks, he guessed this was as normal as he got. He wasn’t worried about anything. He took another step and then everything seemed to shift suddenly. There was a loud snapping sound and something slapped across his chest painfully right before he dropped the two feet from the tightrope flat footed, landing with all his weight on the right food. He heard the immediate cracking sound that seemed to rattle through his brain like a gunshot. It was like slow motion, and he heard it before he felt it. Then pain shot through his leg from his ankle and at the same moment he felt like someone had slapped him across the chest with an anvil. He dropped and rolled to his hands and knees and found he was having trouble catching his breath.

His blood was pounding in his ears and he heard people around as he tried to get enough oxygen into his lungs. Whatever had struck his chest had knocked the breath completely out of him and he felt like his whole chest was on fire now. He felt hands and the world tilted as he was coaxed to lie onto his back by a blur of blue. He felt the buttons on the white shirt he was wearing pop open and he hissed out what little air was in his lungs when Grimmjow’s hand brushed something that really hurt. He rolled his head to the side and he saw a face looking at him from the shadows of the tent, a woman wearing a wide grin and a white hat, then she was gone just as quickly. The sight set off his anxiety and instead of catching his breath he started to hyperventilate. He was glad of it as he faded out of reality into the sweetness of unconsciousness.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Grimmjow saw it first. The slight hitch to the tightrope he was walking on, like something released. Then the rope snapped from where it was connected to the pole and whipped backward and smacked Ichigo right across the chest hard as he dropped straight down. He might have been okay except he happened to land on his foot just right that everyone, not just Ichigo, heard the sick snapping of something. Then Ichigo was on his hands and knees trying to get his breath back after having it knocked out of him. Grimmjow got him to roll to his back and ripped open his shirt, seeing a rising black welt across his chest where the line had hit him. He hissed when he came near touching it and then suddenly he started to hyperventilate without a good reason.

Grimmjow panicked a bit, but as soon as he passed out he grabbed him up and took off at a run to his car. By the time they called or help, he could have him into the emergency and admitted. Shiro was on his heels, phone already out, no doubt calling his dad as they jumped into the car. Shiro slid into the back with Ichigo as Grimmjow took off with his flashers on. Before long, they were at the main hospital’s ER and Grimmjow took him in, telling the nurse what had happened. He said he didn’t know if something in his chest or lungs had been injured by the rope snapping into him.

Grimmjow was shoved out and told to wait in the waiting room. Shiro was standing there, arms crossed and waiting already. Grimmjow shook his head and pulled out his phone. Within an hour, they didn’t know what was going on with Ichigo, but they did know someone had cut the tightrope. They’d done it so it didn’t break at first. It had taken several people to get the rope to let go enough fibers, and when Ichigo stepped up on it by himself, without using someone to support his weight, it gave. In all likelihood it would have snapped under Yuzu if she hadn’t been holding onto Lillinette and Luppi.

        Soon, Grimmjow and Shiro both stood as Ichigo’s dad came out, wearing his white doctor’s coat and held up his hands. “Ah, settle down, both of you. He’s fine. He’s got a nasty break to his ankle, and its going to take a few pins to keep it in place while it heals. Nothing wrong with chest or lungs just looks like he had a panic attack and passed out. He’s going to have a nasty bruise where the rope snapped him, but it just knocked the wind out of him. Most likely, he started to panic when he couldn’t get his breath immediately.”

Grimmjow breathed out and nodded. He didn’t realize how absolutely terrified he’d been until he knew he was okay. He swallowed and took another deep breath. “He going to stay here tonight?” he asked.

Isshin nodded. “We’ll keep him in tonight; he’ll have the surgery in a few hours to stabilize his ankle, then tomorrow afternoon you can take him back home. For now, he’s resting, and you need to as well. So go on, get some rest, and come pick him up about noon tomorrow. He’ll need to rest tomorrow, though, but after that, he should be fine to do anything he wants as long as he keeps the cast and boot on and stays off his ankle.”

Grimmjow nodded and headed out with Shiro. As soon as they got to the car, he dropped his head onto the steering wheel with a thump. He felt Shiro’s hand on his back.

“Fuck, you were right, Shiro, goddamned it all, you were right,” he whispered. “I though…I thought something was going to be wrong with him, that some…some freak accident might actually kill him…and I felt like I was dying again, only worse this time,” Grimmjow said slowly and sat up, starting the car and heading to Nel’s. The others had all got rides from Luppi and his family.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

The next day, as directed, he picked up Ichigo, who was still out of it on pain medicine, and he ended up carrying him up to his bed and putting him down into it. Ichigo ended up sleeping the rest of the day and through the night. The next morning, he woke up with Nel and Wonderweiss and had breakfast before they headed off for their day. Shiro headed out early to go to the INTERPOL office, and his other bounty hunters were on their own missions for him. Edrad was watching Ggio today, Shawlong was on Rin, and Di Roy was at the club. He had just settled in front of the TV to watch some odd little docudrama when Ichigo screamed.

It had been such a pleasant dream, actually. He had been in a wonderful pain free drug haze and things had seemed nice. But then her face began to haunt him at ever step. It was a woman’s face, half formed in his mind, the only thing distinct was the white hat with the wheel symbol on it. It followed him and taunted him, and reminded him that he was going to lose his mind. Then, she was there, in front of him, and her hands clamped onto his shoulders and she whispered,

“Its time to play.”

Grimmjow ran into the room and dropped to his knees by Ichigo’s thrashing body, obviously locked into some sort of nightmare.

“Ichigo!” he called, shaking his shoulders lightly. He struggled against him another minute and then he gasped and stared up at his face and sat up, panting for breath. He looked at Grimmjow and then grabbed him tightly around his chest and began to sob into him uncontrollably. Through everything, he hadn’t broken down. Not once had he let himself break down. And now, they were getting what they wanted, because he was broken.

“She was there, she was there, I saw her,” he said when he’d finally calmed enough to speak. “She was in the shadows, Grimmjow…”

Grimmjow held to him tightly, and felt his own face wet. “I know, I know, Ichigo, it was them, I knew it was when it happened, they tampered with that rope. How they knew, I have no idea,” he said quietly, stroking his back.

“I don’t wanna die,” Ichigo said into Grimmjow’s chest.

Grimmjow felt his chest tighten even further. “I know.”

“I don’t wanna die, I don’t wanna die,” he repeated, clutching Grimmjow’s larger frame tighter to him. “If…if I die…I can’t tell people…”

“I love you,” Grimmjow said finally, simply, and without expectation into the top of his orange head.

Ichigo leaned back and stared at him. “What?”

“I’m not expecting anything. I just want you to know that. I think I fell in love with you when I saw you on stage the first night I was at Las Noches. I don’t want to save you for Hana. I don’t want to save you to get revenge. I want to save you because I’ve fallen in love with you. And I tried not to do it, I did. I don’t get attached to people when I work a case, but something…something about you…I couldn’t get out of my head,” Grimmjow said, locking his blue eyes onto the brown ones.

Ichigo couldn’t help it, his heart sped up and rose to his throat. He was getting lost in those blue eyes and he didn’t know if he was going to ever find his way out. He had no idea what he was doing as he leaned forward and touched his lips against Grimmjow’s. He paused, cutting his eyes up at him and his breath heavy against Grimmjow’s lips. Grimmjow’s hands flew up and gripped him on the side of his face and pressed his own lips against Ichigo with a bit more insistence, licking at the seam until Ichigo’s lips parted. Allowed entrance, Grimmjow’s tongue sought out every spot within his mouth as though he was mapping ever single part of him so he could commit it to memory.

Grimmjow pulled back and looked down into brown eyes blown wide and lips kiss swollen. “Are you sure?” he said quietly. “I mean, please, tell me you’re not still high on pain meds,” he breathed into Ichigo’s mouth.

Ichigo swallowed, his heart beating so fast it sounded like one long sound in his ears. He nodded. “Yeah, I want…I want it to be you…” he said softly, a blush rising to his cheeks.

Grimmjow nodded and pressed him backward onto the futon and moved to climb beside him, avoiding his injured leg and began kissing his way from his lips down his neck and further…

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

“He’s broken, finally, fuck that goddamned bounty hunter and INTERPOL,” Bambietta growled as she flopped into the couch. Everything was set up and ready. Everything they needed.

Quilge smiled. “Well, you’re the one that said that good things are worth waiting for, I hope he’s worth it. We don’t need another mess like Madrid.”

Bambietta glared at him over her scotch. “This is nothing like Madrid. We didn’t give that little fucker long enough to break. We’re not making that mistake this time,” she said, standing up and making her way down into the basement.

It wasn’t anything to look at from the outside. It was a foreclosure, boarded up and empty. At least it should have been empty. She flipped the lights on and checked the equipment. IV lines, saline, electrolytes… She ran her hands over the fun box, as she liked to call it where it stood against the wall. She yanked on the side and found it was secure. What a nice little place, she thought to herself. This would be the sort of chamber she’d set up if she didn’t have to keep moving. She turned and glanced at the silver tray with gleaming instruments. She ran her hand over the selection of knives and needles and felt the usual shiver. Soon, she told herself. Friday night was close, so close, and they’d never see it coming.


	17. The Inevitable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edits 6-9-14

Ichigo had always thought it would be awkward. The morning after, that is. Instead he found himself warm and happy for the first time in months. He felt Grimmjow’s hands threading through his hair and he swallowed and looked up at the larger man. Grimmjow’s beautiful blue eyes were watching him intently.

“Morning,” Grimmjow said quietly in his sleep roughened voice. For some reason it sent a rush of blood to Ichigo’s face and he ducked his head into Grimmjow’s chest. He heard gentle laughter rumble from his chest and felt hands carding his hair again. It was soothing and calmed the anxiety that had surfaced.

“You weren’t this shy last night,” Grimmjow commented. Ichigo buried his head deeper into Grimmjow’s broad chest. There was a long pause. “You…you don’t regret it, do you?”

Ichigo, red faced as he was looked up at him and shook his head. “No. Not at all.”

Grimmjow let the last vestiges of his fear float away. That had been his last terrifying thought, that he’d regret it and then they’d be left worse than before. He smiled softly at him, and reached up and brushed his fingers over his flushed cheeks. Ichigo turned into the touch and felt so calm and peaceful. His body was sore, that was certain. He was left with a back ache and strained muscles in several places, it seemed, but he was sure part of his problem was being unable to use his one leg. It had led to some interesting…positions.

Ichigo was about half asleep again when the door opened and he winced at the light flooding into the room and he heard the grin in Shiro’s voice.

“Goddamn, all ya gotta do is break something for Blueberry to decide its time to fuck ya, eh?” He gave a mock sigh as Ichigo hid again in Grimmjow’s chest.

“Go away, Shiro,” Grimmjow said, resting a hand over his eyes with a sigh.

“Breakfast time, babes, come on,” he said and Ichigo flushed as he felt Shiro grab the sheets and yank them off. There was a giggle.

“After the way you had Ichi there screaming last night, I think you’ll need it,” Shiro said and Ichigo gasped as he remembered quite vividly becoming very vocal. He buried his head again in Grimmjow’s broad chest. Shit, he hoped that Wonderweiss had been listening to his headphones…how embarrassing.

“Sugar, you better be tellin’ yer sister, cuz those hickies are gonna show….” Shiro said, and to Ichigo’s shock, Shiro reached out and smacked him on his now exposed ass before he left. Ichigo groaned while Grimmjow laughed.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

After a while, Grimmjow and Ichigo emerged, and at first Ichigo wasn’t sure how to act around everyone else. It was early, of course, Wonderweiss and Nel were downstairs having breakfast before they left for their Friday. Ichigo was quite well rested after nearly two days in bed and he wanted to get up. He found that with a cast, there were a number of things he needed more help with than he’d like to have admitted. Grimmjow was amused at how much he could blush, even though the night before he’d seen every inch of Ichigo and more. He still was flustered at Grimmjow having to help him shower and dress around the cast, and then the walking boot he was supposed to wear over it.

He scowled at the stairs as he stood at the railing. Walking down them was not going to be fun, he thought to himself. Then, his thinking was interrupted as he was swept up into Grimmjow’s arms with a squeak. Grimmjow chuckled to himself as he carried him, again blushing red, down the stairs and deposited him at the kitchen table beside Nel. Nel looked up at the blushing boy and then to her brother who had a distinct set of hickies running down the side of his throat underneath his polo shirt. She looked closer at the orangette and grinned to herself as she went back to her toast. Ichigo probably didn’t know he had a big, red mark on his neck just above the collar bone. It appeared Grimmy liked to bite, though because she could see teeth marks. She opted not to say anything about either of their love bites. Granted, considering the noise she’d woken up to in the middle of the night, she’d been pretty sure what had been going on.

“So, are you going to be up to going to the circus opening tonight, Ichi?” Shiro said from the other side of the table.

Ichigo glanced at Grimmjow who was scarfing down toast and bacon at a quick rate, but didn’t seem to have an opinion on whether he thought Ichigo should go or not. He nodded. “I want to go, I mean, pop said that I could go ahead and do whatever I wanted as long as I used the crutches and kept off my feet as much as possible. Luppi said I could sit in the front so I could see and not have to worry about the crowd bothering my leg. Um, what do you think, Grimm?”

Grimmjow looked up. “Well, I think it would be okay as long as you’ve got me and Shiro with you. It isn’t like you can wander off alone like that. And really, those two assholes would be stupid to try and do something with that many people around. They tend to avoid collateral damage to others because it keeps them from getting caught. They’ve kidnapped people from public spaces, but never something like that circus. It is small enough that everyone can be seen, and busy enough that for people who don’t want to be seen, it would be hard. I’d say that I’d worry more about your ankle. Make sure and take your oxycodone before we leave if we go.”

Ichigo smiled broadly. “Okay, we can do that. I mean, I can’t even use the bathroom alone really well at the moment, so I’ve got to have you and Shiro there. And Karin and Yuzu and everyone are going, and I think most of Las Noches is going to be there. Shinji said he was going to leave Kirakaze to perform and the Burlesque show will go on at midnight, but he left word Dangai was off tonight.”

Ichigo was surprised at Grimmjow’s agreement. Maybe it was because they’d finally released the tension between them? He wasn’t sure but he had butterflies just looking at him now. Kami, he felt like a high school girl. Was this what it was like to be in love with someone? He nearly choked on his cereal. Love?

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Ichigo was amazed as they pulled into the parking area. The place was packed. He let Grimmjow open the door and steady him on the crutches. He was feeling rather good, actually, having taken a pain pill before he left the house. Nel and Wonderweiss had come in Nel’s car, but Ichigo knew that Wonderweiss was most interested in the animal shows. Nel had said they were going to see the dog trainer for a while when they got there. Ichigo looked around.

“I’m excited, I’ve never been to a circus,” he said, looking around. It was just after five, and they were supposed to head over to the sideshow for their six o’clock show, then at eight, the Big Top was where the main event would be held.

Grimmjow grinned. “Yeah, well, they’re fun. Maybe I’ll win you a stuffed toy or something. I’m sure they’ve got game booths.”

Ichigo felt his face heating up already. He hadn’t realized the effect having someone in his life was going to have on him. His heart felt lighter and he felt like he could pull through everything that was going on around him. Grimmjow couldn’t take his hand of course, and because of the crutches, the most he could do was stay nearby. They followed the signs to the side show. At the doorway, the stoic looking barker Muramasa was standing, turning people away since it wasn’t actually open for another fifteen minutes for seating. As they approached, he nodded, and let them pass through. Ichigo thanked him as he went in and they sat down together along the front row.

“Crutches are exhausting,” Ichigo commented as he flopped back in his chair. “I mean really, they should call them arm torturing devices.”

Grimmjow smiled and glanced over at Shiro. “Shiro, wanna go grab some drinks, I’m sure he’ll sell before they open the tent to us.”

Shiro smiled and hopped up from the other side of Ichigo and came back with two large cups of soda. He handed one to Grimmjow and winked. “Figured you two could share since he can’t carry it.”

Ichigo ducked his head and tried to force the blush out of his cheeks. What was wrong with him? He wasn’t some teenager. He felt Grimmjow lay his arm around his shoulders and pull him a bit closer. “You feeling okay?”

“Hmm, yeah, really good actually,” he said with a semi-goofy grin. Narcotics were fun, in a way, but he did wish he had a hold of all his faculties. He was a little woozy headed and he knew his reactions were slower than normal. He had Grimm and Shiro, though. He smiled and leaned into Grimmjow.

Grimmjow’s heart was racing as Ichigo leaned over into him. He was reacting so much to every little thing he did, he noticed with a grin. He squeezed his smaller body into him tighter. He didn’t want to let go, he realized, not ever. He wasn’t Hana, and Grimmjow was never going to make that mistake. That was degrading to both Ichigo and Hana. Hana would always be in his heart, and now so would Ichigo, no matter what happened. He had taken a big chance, though, falling for someone that was in such horrible danger of dying. He couldn’t help it. However, he knew at the core of his very being, if something were to happen to Ichigo, he would never rest until both of them were dead, even if it meant sacrificing his own life and freedom to do it.

The curtains open and people started coming in. Grimmjow looked up to see Uryuu and Szayel wrapped about each other and they came and sat down next to him, Szayel reaching over Grimmjow to pat Ichigo’s leg.

“Hey, honey, are you doing okay?” he asked with a bright smile.

It seemed Szayel pulled out all the stops tonight. He was wearing full make up and had his pink hair pulled up into a pair of long pigtails. He was wearing a bright pink miniskirt with a black leather corset style top. He had a long sheer, silvery shawl around his bare shoulders and a pair of what had to be six inch platform goth boots. Uryuu, as usual, wore dark trousers and a light blue button up shirt.

Ichigo smiled at him. “I’m okay; very happy that oxycodone is my prescription at the moment,” he said, licking his lips as he grabbed the drink from beside him.

“Did that happen at the accident?” Szayel asked, pointing to the bruised mark on his neck. Ichigo blushed bright red immediately and put a hand over it.

Szayel’s face split into a wide grin and he looked at their position and saw the Grimmjow’s neck was displaying a nice varieity of love bites as well. “Oh, Ichi-baby finally got his blueberry to fuck ‘im. Shit, took you two long enough to hop in the sack together…”

Ichigo sighed and buried his head in Grimmjow’s armpit. Szayel giggled and then yelped, Ichigo guessing he’d been smacked again by Uryuu. It was a wonder Szayel didn’t have permanent bruising as often as he got smacked by his boyfriend.

Behind them, the rest of the people trickled into the room, Nel and Wonderweiss choosing to stand along the back in caset he crowded space got to be too much for Wonderweiss. Karin and Jinta were snuggled together in the back row and Lillinett was sitting practically on Yuzu’s lap due to the crowded conditions. She’d given up her seat to an older man with a cane.

“Welcome one, welcome all!” came the voice of Muramasa. As Don Konoji had said, he could be quite loud after all. “Welcome to the Zanpakutou Spirit Show’s Sideshow. Here you will see things that should not be, and things that will make you doubt your own perceptions.”

There was an indistinct murmur and someone yelled, “Yeah, right!”

Muramasa stepped to the far side of the stage and motioned to the side. “Welcome our first act, the Samurai!”

The dark haired sword swallower stepped up. He wore a full suit of what looked to be authentic samurai armor and proceeded to give a nice demonstration of swordsmanship skills. Muramasa waited until he bowed and the audience quieted again. “And now, please watch, and do not try this at home.” Senbozakura proceeded with the sword swallowing act, to which there were gasps and cries of amazement as he swallowed various sized blades and then bowed and walked off the stage to rousing applause.

“And now, from a distance island country in the south Pacific, please welcome the Pain-proof Man! Watch as he pierces his own skin and neither bleeds nor feels any sort of pain!” Muramasa announced. Wabisuke came onto the stage and wheeled a cart with his implements over to the middle of it. He still had his hair mostly in his face, and he walked slightly bowed. He wore no shirt, though, and a pair of loose pants. His upper body was covered in thick black tattoos of different sizes. The act began and more than one person gasped in horror and amazement as he used various sized needles and pins to put through his flesh in various places.

“Please, those aren’t real needles!” came the voice from earlier. It was ignored as Wabisuke continued with the act, finishing and removing the various implements and wheeling it away.

“After the show, please visit each of our acts at their personal booth, and they may give you an up close demonstration of their amazing abilities. Next, we have Titan and Imp! Titan stands at a towering seven foot five inches in height, and weighs a massive four hundred and six pounds. Imp, his partner, stands at twenty nine and one half inches and weighs a mere forty six pounds!”

The two came out and demonstrated a few moves, and then exited the stage. “And as we continue with the strange creations of nature, next we have the Pisces Twins. Born conjoined at the upper arm, these twins spent their time in their mother’s womb curled around each other.”

The twins came out, wearing an outfit that was a jacket that covered their outside arms but left their conjoined arm open with each wearing a sleeveless shirt underneath. After they exited Muramasa stepped up again. “Next we have a truly amazing sight, we have the Boneless Woman, watch as she places herself inside a this plastic box completely, and turns her body in impossible ways!”

She came out in a solid leaotard that covered her completely and proceeded to demonstrate the incredible ability she had, bending in impossible ways, and then finally fitting her entire body into a plastic box no bigger than two foot by two foot. She clicked it open again and unfolded herself and exited to loud applause. Next, Luppi’s sister came out, dressed in a bright red and orange dress and her hair pulled back.

“Next welcome the Flamestress and watch as she plays with fire, without having to fear being burned!”

Tobiume came up and worked her act, swallowing the fire and twirling the batons until someone yelled, “Man, this is so damn fake! That fire isn’t even real!”

Szayel was annoyed at the idiot. After the heckler at Las Noches, he wasn’t going to put up with it, so he stood up and glared at him. Ichigo turned and saw that it was Hinto. Great, just what he needed right now. He groaned and ducked lower in his seat.

“Oh sit down you fairy fuck!” Hinto said, waving a hand at him. Szayel grinned and glanced at Muramasa.

“Please give your attention to the oh so rare and disturbing creature among us today. The elusive and untrainable homophobic ass. Found only in seclusion, and surrounded by those who find him annoying yet charismatic, he spreads his words of idiocy and ignorance, and in the end makes himself look extremely stupid!” Szayel said, mimicking the hand motions he’d seen Muramasa do during his barking.

The entire audience began laughing, and not at Szayel or the stage, but at Hinto. His face went three shades of red and he stood up and stormed off pulling his girlfriend behind him. Szayel bowed and sat back down. Ichigo snickered behind his hand and smiled up at Grimmjow who dropped him a wink of that incredible blue eye of his.

Tobiume finished her act and Muramasa announced the next one. “While Flamestress is immune to fire, our next act is immune to electricity, please welcome Electro! Watch as he puts live wires to his skin and lights bulbs and other objects just by touching them!”

Koga nodded and proceeded to attach the live wires and then pwereed on several devices including a light bulb, a blender and a radio just by touching them to bare skin. Everyone was amazed by this and clapped excitedly for him as he exited the stage. “Now, please welcome our last elemental master, Jack Frost. You can tell by the name, Jack Frost is immune to the cold. Here we will watch as he handles barehanded actual liquid nitrogen and dry ice!”

No one could quite believe it as Hyōrinmaru did just that. The act was stunning, and when he was done he bowed and stepped down.

“Our last act is the amazingly talented sisters of the blades, Katen and Kyōkotsu, the One Eyed Blades. Watch as they not only practice the ancient art of knife throwing, but they do so with one eye covered!”

The two women were dressed similarly as they had been, Katen in the flowing clothing, and Kyōkotsu with the tighter black clothes. They did a stunning act, both taking turns throwing the diamond encrusted blades at each other and targets. They bowed and exited.

“Thank you! Please, enjoy concessions and games. The Big Top show will start in an hour’s time, and we hope to see you there! You may tour the side show booths and see the performers for yourselves up close if you wish!” Muramasa said with a bow as he exited himself.

Ichigo and his escorts waited until the place emptied before they left themselves, maneuvering Ichigo with the crutches around people. Ichigo looked up at one of the game booths were there was an adorable lion plush. It was almost an exact copy of one he’d had as a child. He was staring at it and Grimmjow leaned over and whispered in his ear.

“See something you like?”

“Yeah, that lion, it looks like one my mom gave me a few months before she died. I don’t know what happened to it, it got lost or something, but I haevn’t seen one like it since then…” he said.

Grimmjow patted him on the shoulder and steered him toward the booth which was a shooting gallery. Grimmjow turned to him. “I got this, don’t worry,” he said with a wink.

Ichigo blushed again and watched as Grimmjow played the game and didn’t miss his mark once. The woman running the booth, her nametag read Shino shouted triumphantly, “Winner! What do you want?” she asked with a smile.

He pointed the lion out and held it in front of Ichigo who smiled brightly at him. “Thank you!” he said, balancing on his crutches and hugging the plush lion to his chest fondly. Grimmjow took it so he could walk easier and they headed toward the closed Big Top tent, and were immediately let in once more by Muramasa who gave them a slight bow. They found their seats quickly. Ichigo looked and noticed the Shiro must have wandered off to play something while they were on their way.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Bambietta whistled as she packed the bags. It was the day, finally. She was like a junkie without her fix when she didn’t have a plaything. Quilge wasn’t doing much better; he was practically vibrating with anticipation.

“Oh, Quilge this is just so exciting. You know, I think I was just made to fuck people up,” she said, packing away the tranquilizer darts.

Quilge snorted, pulling the black long sleeved turtleneck on. “Of course you were. You’ve been doing the same thing since you were a kid.”

She paused and looked thoughtful. “It always amazed me that no one seemed to notice. I was in the psych ward for so long, and it was more fun than being out, in some ways. Some days I miss it. My playthings were close at hand, and all it took was just a little messing with the nurse’s tray to mix up meds, or a few whispered encouraging words to the schizos to make them cut their wrists…ah, those were the days.”

“But now we’re a team,” Quilge said, looking up. “Together, out here, we do more good. Getting rid of the weak to make room for the strong…”

She smiled and tossed the bag over her shoulder and headed to the stolen van. They’d removed the plates already, and the back was equipped for their mission tonight. They hid the van easily enough, no one would notice it among the rest of the vans and trucks that the circus used. They got out and mingled among the crowd, blending in. She smiled as their prey made his way clumsily through the crowd and then smiled as the white INTERPOL freak split off to go play another game while the bounty hunter played a shooting game.

She nodded toward him as he was playing the balloon dart game and Quilge smiled. They hid themselves near where he would be walking and waited in the shadows. He came by, headed no doubt to the Big Top where their quarry already was, and Quilge put a small tube to his lips and blew. Shiro jerked and reached up to his neck and pulled out a tiny feathered dart. He frowned at it for a minute and turned as though to yell for help but he didn’t have time before the drug took effect. Quilge was out and dragging him into the dark space behind the tent in a second, moving unnoticed. He threw a blanket over him and Bambi and he went back out among the crowd.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Ichigo was slightly worried when everyone started pouring into the main tent and Shiro hadn’t been seen yet. He kept glancing around and then back to his phone where he’d already texted him several times only to receive no response at all. To be honest, he was getting more than a little bit worried. Then, the show was starting, and he just had to hope he found his way in in the back of the tent.

“Welcome one, welcome all!” Don Konoji said, opening his arms. On his shoulder, the monkey mimicked him. “I am the most fantabulous, amazing, and flamboyant ringmaster of the century! And I welcome you to my humble show, the Zanpakutou Spirit Show! I hope you have enjoyed our confections and our various shows, and now we will see some truly amazing feats on this ring today. From the flying Hornet and Demon, to the Preening Peacock and the Winds of Death, you will see flights of fancy unlike any you’ve encountered before! Then you will be amazed at feats of strength, and tricks extraordinaire with animals unlike any you’ve encountered! Lil Don and I welcome you!” he said, waving as a figure in a costume like a Hornet was lowered down from the top of the tent hanging by her mouth on a contraption and spinning.

Luppi had joined his family for the evening and took to flying across the rings and ropes and dancing up and down the ribbons as the performance went on. All of the acrobats put on an impressive show and the audience was amazed by the sheer spectacle of it all. Then there was a moment when a pair of falcons came out and flew around the artists, performing tricks with them. All in all, it was a stunning performance.

When their performance was done, Don Konoji came out and introduced Atlas, who performed amazing feats of strength with arms, legs and his jaw. Serpentine was the last act before intermission and she came out and brought out a basket with a king cobra that she played an instrument to charm. She then handled several other snakes, the last one being a huge albino python. Everyone clapped as the snake woman bowed, walking off with the huge albino python wrapped around her body and Don Konoji came back out.

“Thank you everyone for the first half of our show! Please, partake of the concessions making their way around, and enjoy the Konpaktou Clowns! After intermission, we will stun you with the Blood Princess of the Horses and her incredible equestrian antics, followed by the incomparable Hound Master and his retinue of acrobatic canines, and finally, the Human Cannonball will stun you into silence!” Don Konoji bowed, sweeping off his hat as he did so. On his shoulder, Lil Don mimicked his master.

There was a burst of sound and four forms came tumbling out of the back. Ichigo grinned broadly and clapped. The one named Kon was wearing a lion’s mane and danced around as Kurodo came stumbling past and fell flat. Ririn was wearing an outfit that looked like a fluffy chick and did flips and handstands. Noba was masked and performed a mime act around the others. Kon and Ririn juggled pins back and forth, and then they did some other skits that had the entire audience laughing out loud. Everyone had stood up because the clowns were running through the crowd. Kon ran right up to Ichigo who was still sitting in the front row and leaned over and whispered in his ear.

“Hey, wanna play my princess?” he said. Ichigo blushed but nodded, then gestured to his cast. Kon grinned even wider under the lion makeup. “No worries, love, I’ll bring you back after our act,” he said and pulled Ichigo up and swept him up into a bridal carry. Ichigo reached down and yanked his skirt down before he flashed his underthings to everyone in the audience.

He apparently became the “princess” in a silent act where Kon was the monster who had apparently kidnapped him. Noba and Kurodo were playing the valiant knights attempting to rescue him and Ichigo was spun around and around until he was nearly dizzy as he was passed between the three clowns. They were all amazingly gentle and incredibly strong, of course, they were all acrobats. Soon enough the “monster” had defeated the two knights, and Ririn came up and wacked Kon with a soft baseball bat in the head, and grabbed Ichigo from him as he fell. Ichigo was surprised that the slight woman had no problem taking his complete weight as he looked at her with wide eyes. She planted a kiss on his lips, and walked back with him. The crowd burst into laughter and then Noba and Kuroda sat up and looked, motioning to the two “women” walking off together and then shrugged and stood up. They kissed lightly on the lips and then skipped off toward the back of the ring holding hands after Ichigo and Ririn. Kon bowed and ran off after them, flipping up and over the two of them and into the back.

Grimmjow smiled and knew that Ichigo had enjoyed it. He imagined it was because the entire circus felt bad about the accident, but they’d all been extremely nice to him. Everyone chatted and Grimmjow looked around realizing that Shiro hadn’t come in at all, and after about ten minutes, Ichigo still hadn’t come back out. He’d figured that one of the clowns or the acrobats would have helped him back by now as he didn’t have his crutches. He shifted and glanced at Szayel and Uryuu who sat nearby, and both wore similar curious expressions. The clowns hadn’t come back out either, and neither had the Ringmaster. Grimmjow clutched the lion tightly for a moment.

There was a loud scream for help from the back and Grimmjow was on his feet before he thought. In one hand he was clutching the stuffed animal and the other was already busy on his phone calling Zangetsu’s number. He skidded to a halt behind the curtain and his stomach turned. The dark haired acrobat, Kazeshini, was kneeling beside Don Konoji who was unconscious right beside the curtain. A little behind them Noba and Kurodo were both standing, leaning heavily against the metal poles trying to keep their feet. They looked dazed and he could see that Kurodo at least had a bleeding head wound. Kon was frantically trying to wake Ririn up, who like Don Konoji was completely unconscious.

“What is it?” came Zangetsu’s voice.

Grimmjow’s voice was gone. He tried to speak, but instead he just clutched the stuffed lion tighter against him. “No…” was all he could get out.

“Fuck, we’re on the way, stay there,” Zangetsu said. “Where’s Shiro?”

“Don’t know…” Grimmjow said quietly.

Before long, the entire area was blocked off, and one of the carnies was walking a barely conscious Shiro into the area where they had put Grimmjow to sit and wait. Grimmjow had been prepared to berate him, but it was obvious he’d been drugged. He hadn’t sat for more than five minutes before he was out again. Grimmjow kept his head in his hands and tried to control his heart rate, the lion laying on the table in front of him. It was them, it had to be them. There was no one else this organized, no one else that could neutralize that many people that quickly.

They had him.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Ichigo groaned as the world tried to swim back into reality. He was so tired, why was he so tired? He swallowed and remembered. Ririn had been giggling to him about how pretty of a princess he’d made when she’d stumbled and Ichigo saw a dart sticking out of her neck. He put his foot out as she fell forward. He couldn’t keep upright and fell flat beside the unconscious ringmaster. He gasped and pushed up to roll onto his back and found himself staring into a face he’d seen from a distance. She smiled a dark smile and the wheel on the white hat she wore stood out brightly. Ichigo had opened his mouth to scream but something sharp poked into his thigh. He looked down and saw her remove a syringe and toss it aside.

“Time to play,” she whispered as he heard twin thumps as what he guessed was Noba and Kurodo hit the ground. He hoped they’d all be okay. He didn’t want to be the reason anyone else got hurt.

Now, his eyes were stuck together with glue it seemed, and he couldn’t move his jaw one bit. Something was wedged into his mouth and even when he got his eyes open, he couldn’t see. He couldn’t hear either; he felt the sensation that his ears were plugged. There was a sharp pain in his arm and he realized he couldn’t move his limbs either. Something cool seemed to run into his arm and he realized it was an IV. He frowned and swallowed against the gag, he assumed it was some kind of gag. He felt hands brush across his bare chest. Wait, his shirt was gone, he was still wearing his skirt, he felt, but he’d been stripped of everything else. He could feel a slight bit of air on his body then it stopped and he started to panic.

Bambietta sighed as she shut the door on the chamber. Quilge was smoking a cigar nearby, a pleased look on his face. “Smooth grab, as always,” he commented.

“Far too many people had to be neutralized. I think this was one of our more difficult grabs,” she said, moving over to the couch that was set up across from the closet sized box.

It was an old tactic. Sensory deprivation left someone in such a vulnerable state. They always started with it these days. Before, when _Madrid_ happened, they didn’t use the deprivation box. They learned, though, evolved their methods. And after about twenty four hours of being unable to see, hear, smell, or have any sort of contact, there would be a moment when he wouldn’t care if it was her jolting him with the electrodes or slicing through his flesh with her knives. He’d crave her touch, he’d crave their touch. She smiled, laying back and picking up her own pack of cigarettes and lighting her own. He wouldn’t even smell the smoke inside the box.


	18. Only Pain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edits 6-9-14

The hospital was busy with the various people that had been injured by the attack at the show. In the waiting room, Grimmjow paced with Zangetsu and Tensa sitting beside him. They hadn’t heard yet about Ririn, Shiro or the ringmaster who had all got a full dosage of whatever tranquilizer had been used. Shiro had had some difficulties, briefly having an episode of respiratory failure. Ichigo’s father was there, working diligently, and when Zangetsu gave him Shiro’s medical files he commented that it was no doubt due to past drug use. From the circus, the waiting room was filled with worried carnies still in their costumes from the show. Luppi and his family stood together and comforted Rin who was pale and frantic already. Shinji, Szayel, Uryuu and Illfordt had all come down, asking the rest of the Las Noches crew to go back to the club and wait.

It seemed like an eternity before Isshin and Uryuu’s father, Ryuken, came out together, both looking exhausted.

“All three that were dosed with the tranquilizer, ketamine, it turns out, are recovering,” Isshin said with a sigh. “The syringe they recovered matched the same dosage, and there were traces of Ichigo’s DNA on it, so we know he was dosed with it. Noba and Kurodo are both about ready to be released. They’d both been hit in the back of the head with something; both have a minor concussion and needed a few stitches.”

Ryuken nodded at his friend. “Yeah, they’ll all be released shortly. Shiro, despite the scare with his breathing is doing fine now. By morning, he’ll be able to go back home. Until there, there really isn’t much to do here. I suggest you all, and you too Isshin, head home and get some rest.”

Grimmjow stood. “I can’t rest, they have him.”

“You don’t know that,” Isshin said softly. “There weren’t prints, we don’t know anyone…”

Grimmjow knew the man was fooling himself. Of course it was them. Who else would manage to sneak out of a fully packed circus with someone that easily? He was about to say so when he got a message on his phone. He frowned, looking down and seeing an unknown number. Shinji saw the face he was making and came over and snatched the phone. Grimmjow started to protest, but Shinji shook his head. “Grimmy, let me look first,” he said quietly.

Grimmjow swallowed and nodded. He was not eased by the sudden pallor that overtook Shinji’s face. He swallowed and looked up. “Yeah, message from an unknown number. ‘Sorry to end our game, big bad bounty hunter, but the time has come for us to play with him. We’ll take plenty of pictures so you have something to remember him by after we’re done. Keep it with your last lover’s picture book we sent you. Here’s a preview, and hope you enjoy the finished product.’ And there’s a picture…”

Grimmjow snatched the phone away from Shinji before the blonde could react. Grimmjow stared for a long moment at the phone in his hand and then his hand started to shake. Shinji moved forward and grabbed the phone away as he turned and punched his fist through the wall behind him, sending plaster and chunks of wood flying in every direction. He turned and stormed out of the waiting room. He had to do something so he had to move before he did something worse than put a hole in the wall.

Isshin came forward. “What is it?” he asked, not wanting to know at the same time as needing desperately to know. Shinji hesitated but handed him the phone with a sigh as he looked away. He couldn’t watch Isshin’s face.

Isshin’s hand was steady, he was a doctor and a surgeon after all, and to shake him took something extreme. He bit his lip and closed his eyes as tears started immediately, but his hand did not shake, even as Ryuken took the phone from his hand and he felt someone’s soft arms around his shoulders. He smelled a familiar scent and knew that Rangiku had come. He felt himself guided to a seat and he leaned forward, burying his face in his hands.

The picture was Ichigo, of course. It was unclear if he was conscious or not, as there was a blindfold over his eyes. His mouth was gagged with some sort of bit style gag that seemed to wedge his jaw open. He was standing with his arms held upward and over his head, clamped into some sort of manacles embedded in the back of whatever he was inside. He’d been stripped of all except the black skirt he’d been wearing, and his feet, though they were on the floor, were clamped into manacles behind him. Isshin winced because his cast was gone. Another metal ring emerged and went around his waist, another was around his neck, and a pair of them held him down at points above the elbow and knee. It was quite obvious he was being held in a position the prohibited any and all movement. Beside him, running into an IV line was a bag of fluids on a slow drip. He had something that looked like wires running from his ears, and they assumed they were some sort of earplugs. Whatever he was in had doors, like some sort of closet. There was nothing to indicate where he was.

Zangetsu had taken the phone and disappeared with Tensa after Grimmjow. They knew that the young bounty hunter would be volatile. As they exited they saw Ichigo’s sisters running into the waiting room where their father was. Zangetsu stopped and held himself up against the wall for a long moment. His thoughts were on the young man beside him and he couldn’t stop them this time. He’d been too close.

“Zan?” his younger companion said softly.

“I know, I know I shouldn’t say this here. But son, if anything were to happen to you like that…” he spoke almost in a whisper. Zangetsu was Tensa’s father, though not even INTERPOL was privy to that information. Tensa had been born to Zangetsu’s late wife while he was on assignment, and he had never been informed of it. Years later, he met the boy who had stories of a mysterious father that worked in INTERPOL and he was on a mission to climb the ranks until he found him. It didn’t take much for Zangetsu to figure out things and take the boy on as his subordinate. In the presence of others, they never spoke of it, but seeing a father like Isshin so broken…

He felt him put a hand on his shoulder. “Nothing to worry about, old man. Come on, we need to get this image to the forensics boys and see if they can get anything off of it.”

Zangetsu nodded and gathered himself, letting the young Tensa lead the way. Of all the fathers and sons, their relationship might have been the most unusual, but they loved each other deeply.

In the waiting room, Karin and Yuzu ran to their father and grabbed him, asking if Ichigo was okay, was he hurt? They had no idea what had happened yet. Isshin had been called to the hospital and told there had been an accident at the circus Ichigo was at. When he found out Ichigo was gone, he’d called and let the girls know that something had happened to their brother, but he couldn’t talk right then.

“Pop!” Karin yelled as soon as she got near and saw Rangiku rubbing her father’s back. He looked up and both girls stopped. “What happened? Where’s Ichi?” she asked.

“They took him,” Isshin whispered, his eyes unfocused and wide.

Behind them, the doors opened and Starrk arrived with Lillinette, Urahara and Kenpachi. Ururu and Jinta were with their uncle, and Yachiru was with her father. The four younger members went to Yuzu and Karin. They already had been told what had happened.

Yuzu dropped to her knees in tears, already sobbing loudly. Karin glared at her father. “You said they’d keep him safe! You said that Grimmjow was protecting him! You said that!” she screamed. Isshin looked paler than before. “You said they’d keep him safe! Everyone was watching him, how did they get him? What is going to happen to him? You haven’t even told me that much, just that he was being stalked! It’s more than that, isn’t it? They’re going to do something bad to him, aren’t they? Is he ever coming home, or are you going to lie to me about that too!” As she spoke, her fists clutched at her side and her voice began to rise in pitch. Jinta immediately grabbed her shoulders as she started to heave deep breaths. “Why didn’t you stop them? Why did you let him go? If he hadn’t gone to the stupid club, he probably wouldn’t have been picked for them to go after! You should have stopped him!” she screamed and pivoted on her heel and ran from the room, slamming the waiting room door behind her. Jinta didn’t think; he just took off after her.

It didn’t take long before he found her next to a vending machine sobbing. He kneeled in front of her and wrapped his arms around her and let her cry on him. She couldn’t believe it, the last time she cried was when her mom died…

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Ichigo’s body felt weird. He knew he should be at least falling asleep from sheer exhaustion but he wasn’t. In fact, he felt like his body was a live wire, and his eyes just wouldn’t seem to close at all. He was starting to feel the bit that was in his mouth. He couldn’t hear, smell or see, but he could at least feel the metal resting there, and the obnoxious dripping of his own saliva from the corners of his mouth. He tried his best to swallow but with the bit wedging his mouth open he couldn’t do much. His stomach was empty, and he knew it had to have been days that he’d been in here, because he just felt so sore in every joint. He frowned a bit and realized suddenly that the ankle that he’d broken was missing the cast. They’d taken it off him. Why would they do that? Of course, there was no weight on it, most his weight was being held by the various bands of leather and metal that was holding him. He could already tell he had bruising everywhere it held him.

A sudden rush of cool air was the only thing that told him that anything changed. His breathing sped up and there was a popping sound as the ear plugs were pulled out of his ears and sounds rushed into him, making him wince at the sudden loudness. He heard the purr of a fan, and heard breathing near him, and someone else breathing further away. The smells assaulted him then, smoke and sweat. He swallowed against the rising bile in his throat. He felt a pinch and the dripping of blood down his arm. They’d removed the IV?

Then her voice. “Oh, not so pretty now are you?”

Ichigo couldn’t answer of course. Then his voice from further away. “Looks plenty pretty to me.”

“You just want to fuck him,” she said, and Ichigo felt fingers running across his bare chest. “Hrm, you’ll get your chance, after I’ve had some fun with him. You can sit over that and jack off while he squirms. Just clean up after yourself,” she said and Ichigo flinched as a cool hand touched his face.

He felt her reach up and the blindfold was lifted up and off. He blinked repeatedly as the dim light nearly blinded him. He scowled at her and growled through the bit gag in his mouth. She smiled. “I do like a little spunk, at least at first. Before I’m done, you’re going to be begging me to beat you, cut you, hurt you…” she said, grabbing his chin in a painful grip. “You with your showy little ass getting all that attention you don’t deserve. You deserve every bit of this, my little bitch. And I know, you’re a little whore now, aren’t you? Letting that blue haired bounty hunter fuck you until you screamed. Oh it was a pretty sight, and yeah, I did watch every second.”

Ichigo couldn’t help it, his eyes went wide. How the hell did they see that? He started to breathe more heavily. “Oh yes, I watched as he bent you over and made you squirm like a bitch in heat. Too bad when Quilge over here dosed your drink you didn’t get the rough treatment you deserved from that Dom you went out with. Quilge had seen what he did to his sluts; that’s why he dosed your drink. He knew he wouldn’t have problems with a bitch that said no with their mouth and yes with their body. But no, your bounty hunter savior had to come along and the stupid asshole had to have an attack of conscious. No matter, Quilge had fun with little Rin. He was a screamer too. Are you going to scream for him?”

Ichigo cut his eyes over to the man leaning back on the sofa watching him. His hand was in his pants and Ichigo looked back at the woman and tried to shake his head but he couldn’t move it without pain in his neck.

“Not today, pretty boy. He likes them begging him to fuck ‘em before he takes them. And beg you will because it will be one of the only times you’re let out,” she said with a smile.

Ichigo’s eyes went wide but his mind was already working. When were the other times he’d be let out? If he could figure that out, he could figure out what his chances of escape were. She reached down and ran a finger over the leather and metal belt.

“You know, this box is really a marvel. We’re quite proud of it, you know. It took a lot of time to get it right. The first time we used it, we had the bindings too tight and the poor boy suffocated before the first day was over. Quite a disappointment. Then, we figured out that we had to use IV lines if we really wanted to make it last, otherwise the boy would die of dehydration. Now, do you have to piss yet?” she said.

Ichigo suddenly realized he didn’t. Wait, it had been a long time if his stomach indicated anything. She looked at him and grinned. “Catheters are useful items,” she said quietly near his ear. “You will not leave the box even to relieve yourself, my lovely boy. You are the lucky recipient of the epitome of our methods. After we’re done with you, I’m not sure if we’ll even need to find someone else.” She smiled and caressed his face gently. “Maybe, maybe we’ll just keep you instead of killing you. Hmm, what do you think, Quilge, would he keep you satisfied?”

“I think so. Make him beg every night for me, I’d like that,” he said. “Be less likely to get caught, and oh, wouldn’t it make that fucking bounty hunter lose his mind…”

Bambietta grinned and leaned forward, placing a soft kiss against his cheek. “First, I’m going to show you what toys I have to play with you.”

She stepped aside and Ichigo saw a tray laden with various things, including razors and knives. He struggled against the bindings but only succeeded in making himself even sorer. She picked up some small white pads and began to put them on his body. She put two on each of his sides, and one on each hip, sliding her hand just under the band of his skirt. Next she attached one to each side of his jaw, and one on the inside of each thigh below the line of the skirt. Finally, she added one to each bicep, one on each pectoral, and three on his stomach. She turned, humming to herself as she attached wires to each of them and he realized that they were electrodes. She turned again and pulled a rolling cart that had a box with knobs attached. She smiled.

“Ah, first let’s turn on the power, shall we?” she asked, flipping a switch and a jolt of electricity shot out through each of them. He gasped through the gag and shook his head as much as he could. “Shh, now, sweetie. Enjoy it. I know I will.”

Ichigo remembered when he was little once, he’d stuck his finger into a light socket on accident. He was helping his mom change the light bulb and it zapped him. He’d cried for almost an hour. Now, that sensation was magnified and shooting through everything. He was quickly losing control of any muscles as the current burned through him. He couldn’t even scream into the gag because his body was contorted and frozen in place. She kept increasing it and increasing it until finally the world just blacked out.

The world swam back in a sickening way and he blinked, finding he was blindfolded again with the earplugs. His sides hurt the most and he could smell the left over tang of ozone and scorched flesh. Why was he awake? And why did he feel like there were ants crawling over his skin?

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Shiro was frankly exhausted when Nel picked him up from the hospital. He was angry and frustrated and just wanted to go back to bed. He entered the house behind Nel to find that Komamura was there and he could hear him talking to someone in the living room. He went in and found that Wonderweiss was sitting on the couch rocking rhythmically back and forth and humming and looking completely lost. Shiro sighed, falling into the big chair beside the sofa with a groan. Nel looked sad when she entered the room and Sajin looked up.

“He’s been like this ever since yesterday. He didn’t take the news well,” Nel said, sitting down beside Sajin.

“Would it help to go to my farm?” he asked, glancing at him and Nel. “I have all the animals, and Chairo could come as well, and it might take your mind off it all,” he said, turning to Wonderweiss. Wonderweiss stilled, looking at Nel’s questioning glance and nodded slowly. “Good, please, Nel, pack his things, we can leave right away. The sooner, I think, the better, and you have plenty people to take care of Azura,” he said gently to him.

Shiro flinched involuntarily at the mention of the tarantula. Before long, Nel and Wonderweiss had packed a couple changes of clothes and left to head to the train station. Nel knew better than anyone that staying there would only make things worse on Wonderweiss. On the train, Sajin sat beside the boy who held tightly to the dog on his lap.

“You know, it is okay to cry,” Sajin said, not looking directly at him.

Wonderweiss looked up at him, a curious look on his face.

“I know that your biological parents were terrible, and that crying would get you in trouble, but this is certainly a situation in which one is allowed tears.”

Wonderweiss didn’t say anything. Before long they were at the train station, and on the way to the large farm. Still Wonderweiss was quiet, but he was thinking about what Sajin had said. He remembered his real parents yelling and screaming at him for crying. But was it really okay?

“When is it okay to have tears?” Wonderweiss said later that night, sitting on the large porch of Sajin’s farmhouse.

“Anytime you are sad,” Sajin said, sitting beside him while Nel fixed dinner for them all in the kitchen. “And it is okay to be sad, especially now. I remember crying when my father died, and I was a grown up already.”

Before another word was spoken, Wonderweiss hand leaned over and buried his head in Sajin’s chest, and the farmer felt the tears spreading across the shirt he wore. He rubbed the boy’s back and was quiet, allowing him to release the pain that had welled inside of him at the loss of his friend.

As night came on in Karakura, though, the door to the house slammed open and Shiro was jolted out of his sleep in the chair. He looked up to see it was Grimmjow who looked none too good at the moment. He was up the stairs and the door to the room he had been sharing with Ichigo slammed shut. Shiro was still too tired to care, though and was asleep again before he knew it.

At Las Noches an equally exhausted group of people combed through anything they could find to try and locate Ichigo. Yuzu and Karin were sitting beside each other when Harribel and Mila Rose came and sat beside them.

“Hey you two,” Harribel said with a smile.

Yuzu sighed deeply and gave her a wan smiled. “Hey, Tier.”

“Sweetie, your biggest resource is going to waste,” Harribel said, looking over to where Lillinette was sitting alone on the other side of the room.

Yuzu looked at her. “How can I even think of that when Ichigo’s gone?” she asked.

Harribel patted her back. “Sweetie, having someone support you isn’t a bad thing riht now. She can help you in a lot of ways to get through this if you let her. But you have to quit pushing her away.”

Yuzu swallowed and sighed.

Mila Rose leaned in toward Karin. “And the same could be said for you, sugar,” she commented, glancing over where Jinta was passing out coffee.

Karin nodded and smiled. Their biggest resource was each other, after all.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

_…whatever happens, stay strong and don’t let them break you. Don’t give them what they want._

Ichigo gasped and lifted his head. He hadn’t slept, but his thoughts were wandering and he remembered Ggio’s words to him. Just then the doors were opened and the coolness of the air rushed over him again. This time, though, he felt them releasing him. He was going to try, he had to try. As soon as his arms and legs were free he struck out, hitting something solid. He started clawing and scratching until he felt something smash into back of his head, dazing him. He blinked and came back to reality to find his hands and feet were tied behind his back and together. He was on his knees and there was a tub of water in front of him.

“That hurt, you little twink bitch,” Bambietta said, smiling at him. There was a line of scratches across her face where he’d managed to get her in the scuffle. “I didn’t think you’d still have so much fight after two days in there. But then, you won’t be sleeping any. You’ve got enough amphetamines in you to keep up for a week, sweetheart.

Two days? He’d been in that box for two days and that was all. Bambietta’s smile was frightening and he realized to his horror what they were doing. He struggled back as his head was shoved down into the water which was filled with ice. His first impulse was to gasp at the coldness but he held his breath. He could do this; he wasn’t going to let them do this to him. He wouldn’t let them win. After what felt like an eternity with his lungs screaming for air, Quilge lifted his dripping heat out and he gasped great gulps of air. Bambietta leaned across and pulled his head up.

“You are going to suffer, do you understand?” she said in a low tone. She stepped back and he was under the water again. He held his breath, knowing they didn’t want to kill him didn’t help, though. Up again, he barely had time to gasp before his head was painfully shoved under once more. He wasn’t going to breathe, he wasn’t going to choke, and he told himself. Up he came but this time she was grinning at him. One quick breath and under again, but this time there was a sharp pain that shot through his side and he realized she’d kicked him. Reflexively he drew in a breath and filled his lungs with the ice water. Up again and he was coughing, sputtering and trying desperately to get the water from his lungs. His lungs were on fire now. He heard her laughing and he was under again, barely sucking a clear breath as another blow forced water into him. He wasn’t sure how long, but it was Grimmjow’s face that kept him aware, until finally as he came up and coughed weakly the darkness swallowed him again.

Again, his eyes came unstuck to blackness and silence and he screamed against the gag. He was in the box again, and he was wet and freezing cold now. He started to sob, tears mixing with the water that was still dripping from his hair.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Las Noches was unrecognizable by the time Rin and Luppi entered it the next day. It was Monday morning, and it was the third day since the kidnapping. A sign on the door announced that due to personal matters, Las Noches would not be open until further notice. The kitchen was open in full swing, Tessai, Ururu, and many others keeping everyone fed. By everyone, that included Las Noches crew and everyone that had come from INTERPOL and the police. Renji was standing with his girlfriend who was on Ichigo’s case from the beginning, Rukia. Her brother, a contributor to Las Noches and financial backer was doing everything he could to help as well.

Karakura’s police station had been too small to handle everyone, so Shinji had offered Las Noches. All the tables were being used by officers and agents as well as equipment. There were people out scouring the streets and people trying to find anyone that had seen any of the people involved. Rin was surprised at the outpouring of help. He supposed, though, these people were guilty of so many crimes; it wouldn’t be good to let them get away. Luppi led him back to one of the quieter rooms were Grimmjow and Shiro were trying to catch some sleep after having been up most the night.

Rin looked at Luppi nervously. “Maybe I should go back home to the ryokan, Luppi, I mean, with them on the loose, and Ichigo…”

Luppi put a finger to his lips. “Hush now. I don’t want you going anywhere without me, love, and if we go back, I want it to be because you want to introduce me to your parents,” he said with a soft smile and a kiss on the other man’s cheek.

Rin nodded. “You’re right, running away now won’t help me, or him…”

Grimmjow, frustrated at being unable to sleep, finally rolled over and headed back into the front area just after Rin settled into the couch with a book to read. He felt his phone vibrate and grit his teeth together. He pulled it out and felt a cold chill go over him.

“Hi, us again, isn’t he pretty when he’s trying to breath water?” the message said, and it was a picture of Ichigo, head pulled up and back with water streaming from his nose and mouth, face contorted in obvious pain. Grimmjow held onto his anger, barely and put the phone in his pocket. He wasn’t going to let it get to him; they were baiting him, trying to get him to do something stupid. He instead stormed out the front door past the other Kurosakis.

Isshin was out canvasing the area, and Karin and Yuzu had gone to wait at Las Noches. It was the place for any news to come from, after all.

“What if he doesn’t come back?” Yuzu said, watching Grimmjow storm out.

Rangiku put an arm around her. “Don’t think that way, they’ll find him, honey, they’ll find him…”

“And if they find him too late?” Karin said, her eyes still damp and Jinta holding her against him.

“Then we do what we must, and that’s move on,” Rangiku said, looking at her sadly. “I wish I could say that everything will be okay, but I’d be lying. And I can’t lie to you girls about this. We don’t know. But all I can say is that I’ll be here no matter what for both of you and your dad,” she said, rubbing Yuzu’s back as a new round of sobbing hit her.

Tesra and Ggio watched from across the room where they were seated combing through pages of police reports looking for anything that could give them a clue. Tesra sighed and rubbed his eyes.

“They’re terrible people,” Ggio said with a sigh as he sat back in the chair. “They’ll do everything to break him.”

Tesra looked up and smiled. “You seemed to have recovered from it,” he said gently.

Ggio nodded. “Yeah, but it took a long time. They’re sadistic. I mean, some days I don’t know how I survivded the surgeries and the therapy afterward.

Tesra nodded. “When you aren’t sure if you’re going to live, it makes it tough to move forward,” he commented, pointing to his eye.

“I read,” Ggio said with a sigh. “A lot. It was the only way I made it. I’d dive into books and forget the real world existed for a little while. What’d you do?”

Tesra sighed. “Believe it or not, stand up comedy.”

Ggio arched a brow. “Really?”

He nodded, running a hand through his blonde hair. “Yup. I’d make a trip to the local club every Friday night during chemo. It really was the only thing that kept me sane.”

They both looked up as Starrk and Lillinette came back in, Lillinette going immediately over to Yuzu. “Ah, back to it. Let’s see if we can’t find some pattern in the bitch’s fires,” Ggio said with a sigh.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Ichigo wasn’t sure what was causing it. He was hearing things and seeing things, which considering that he was blindfolded and had been put in earplugs was essentially impossible. It didn’t seem to matter to his mind though. His sisters’ voices, other people speaking, it was rather annoying actually. He saw things crawling on his skin and he knew it was just the drugs they were pumping into him, but he saw them, dammit. Tiny little ants with big heads that looked like his tormentors’. It was quite horrifying actually.

Once again, a wash of cool air and the popping of the earplugs followed by the lights piercing his brain. He groaned against the gag. His throat was raw and so dry that he would have done anything to be dunked in the water again just so he could have a drink of it, no matter if he felt like he was drowning or not. It was better than this incessant thirst. And she was there again, smiling. He hoped they let him out again. He was wrong about that.

She held up a safety razor like were sold in the stores. She smiled at the razor and winked at him. “Safety razors, such devious little objects, you know. They’re meant to keep you from cutting yourself too badly during shaving, but they have five nice little blades all in a row, and if you removed the annoying little metal that wraps around them, you have a nifty little cutting device. Amazing, all the things you can use that aren’t even made to torture someone with, right?” she said, sliding the head of the blade across his arm and leaving five small razor cuts that bled just a tiny bit.

“Oh, so pretty,” she said, looking at the blood. “I love it when you bleed.”

Ichigo watched as she took the razor to about every inch of exposed flesh it felt like. His forearms, biceps and chest were covered in the small rows of five small cuts. She went to his stomach leaving deep ridges in it. When she was done she dropped the disposable razor into a can and Ichigo was panting and dizzy. In addition to the ants that were crawling over his body, he felt like all of his skin was on fire. She stepped back and turned to Quilge.

“Oh, clean him up a bit. Glad we have a drain down here,” she said, walking out of Ichigo’s view.

The man came up to him and smiled. “Look at you, dirty little boy,” he said, picking up a glass of what looked like water and dumping it over his head. As it started to drip down from his hair he started to scream because it wasn’t water. It was alcohol. Quilge smiled and held up a vodka bottle, taking a swig of it and smiling before he held it over his head. Ichigo didn’t think he had a voice to try and scream with, he found out he was wrong about that.


	19. When the World Turns Dark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited 6-9-14

The voices were starting to get on his nerves. The ants and the scorpions were getting on his nerves too, but it wasn’t like he could do much about it. Somewhere at the back of his mind, he knew that none of these things were actually real. He knew that he was quickly losing his mind in the bloody box he was stuck inside. Quilge had come by again, dumping another bottle of some sort of alcohol that smelled horrible over him and try as he might, he couldn’t hold off screaming against the gag. That was another annoyance. His mouth was in a constant state of pain now, and he was wondering if he did manage to get away from these people if he’d even be able to move it again.

 _Don’t give them what they want…don’t let them break you…_ Ggio’s voice reminded him. He wanted to scream at Ggio as his face floated into his mind’s eye. Don’t let them break him? Fuck, right now he’d give anything just to die at this point. It would be better than this constant state of…whatever the hell this ways. Again, for the millionth time, it seemed he screamed at the invisible faces. He couldn’t hear anything, and he didn’t know how much time had passed. His brain was on overdrive, though, that’s all he really knew and he couldn’t shut it off.

Another rush of cool air and he started to hyperventilate almost immediately. Maybe if he forced himself into unconsciousness they’d leave him alone…

“Oh, hi there, pretty boy,” Bambietta said, in his ear as soon as the ear plugs were gone and she yanked away the blind fold.

Ichigo blinked and whimpered when he saw that they were both standing there, Bambietta’s face twisted into smile and Quilge’s face with some sort of leer on it. Ichigo tried to shake his head as she came toward him, ducking her head into the box and kissing his cheek.

“You’re doing so well, I think we’re gonna keep ya after all. Quilge seems to be hard pressed, in more than one way, to agree with me that we should dispose of you. So we’ve set up a little plan. A couple days from now, on Friday, a yakuzu is coming to pick us happy three up. Then we’ll board a private little plane to this lovely little island where we can keep you and not have to worry about anyone finding us. What do you say? Would you like to stay with us?” she said into his ear.

His mind spun wildly. Two days would be Friday? He’d been here five days? Five days without sleep, food or water? No wonder his mind was breaking. Stay with her? Oh no, he thought…no…

He shook his head despite the clamp around his neck, and felt blood trickling down his throat because of the motion. She sighed and looked behind her. “Aw, he doesn’t want to play with us? Oh well, doesn’t matter, pretty, you’ll be going along as it is. You’re just too damn sweet to kill, you know? And we’re tired of the games, and ducking cops and scouting out new playthings.   But if I’m keeping you, we’re going to mark you as our plaything so no one gets any ideas. I always do this, but this time, I’m doing it to scar you for the rest of your life, so it will be a little more painful than it usually is when we mark our toys for the cops to find,” she said and lifted up something that made Ichigo’s struggles begin anew.

It was a cutting torch. Despite the drugs, it didn’t take long before he was completely unconscious, throat raw from screaming. In a way, deep under his thoughts, he was glad of it.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Illfordt sat with his head in his hands at the table. His coffee had just been refilled and he was looking over phone records for more people in the area. He felt a pair of hands rest on his shoulders and he looked up to see a familiar face framed with bright purple curls.

“Cirucci!” he said, turning around and smiling at her. “I didn’t expect you to come.”

She smiled at him. “I had to. After you called a couple days ago, I got one of the theater troupe to drive me here so I can see if I could help,” she said, indicating a blonde woman that was standing nearby. “I just…I wanted to make sure you were okay. I know that you kinda got close to him, and then with everything I did…”

“Hush, now,” Illfordt said with a smile. “No, you didn’t do this. And besides, look at you now, you’re a different person, and I’m so very proud of you. And I’m certain that Ichi will be too when he sees you again.”

She smiled. “Just tell me what to do,” she said with a smile.

He was about to ask her if she could help in the kitchen when there was as squeal from one of the other tables.

“I’ve got something!” came a call from one the phone table, and everyone looked up. Yumichika was holding a paper over his head. “Abandoned van, plates gone, VIN scratched out, might be the one we’re looking for!” he yelled. “One of the people at the circus last night heard what happened and called in this morning after seeing a suspicious vehicle and stopped to look.”

There was a scramble and a team was sent out immediately. Grimmjow sat sulking in the corner, unable to rest but too exhausted to do anything else. His phone buzzed again and he took it out woodenly to find himself staring at another picture from _them._

“Hi there sweetie, thought you’d like to see your slut’s new body art,” it said, and followed was a picture of Ichigo strung up in the damn box again, on his side a bright red wheel-like symbol had been burned into his flesh. He recognized it. It was what they burned into their victims to make sure everyone knew who had murdered them. It was a symbol for chaos, a rimless wheel with arrows for spokes. That was, of course, the bitch’s favorite concept. He wasn’t blindfolded this time, but he was obviously unconscious, and the marks from the bindings were growing more apparent. Another text followed.

“Oh, and by the way, we’re keeping him. He’s just too much fun…”

Grimmjow wanted to throw the phone but he couldn’t it was all evidence. He waved at Shiro and handed over the phone. Shiro nodded and headed back to pull what information they could from it. Time passed at a snail’s pace and it was nearly seven when Yumichika came running to where he was slumped in the chair.

“Hey, we’ve got trace. There’s foreign dirt in the wheel wells of this van. We know it’s the one they used, we’ve got a DNA confirmation, just a drop of blood, probably where they injected him with the drug, but it matches Ichigo. If we can figure out where the dirt came from we’ll have an idea where he might be,” he said with a grin. “It isn’t much but it’s the best we’ve got right now.”

Grimmjow nodded. “Call me I’m going back to Nel’s to get some sleep. Let me know when the trace comes back, okay?”

Shiro jumped up and followed him. “I’m going with ya,” he said with a sigh. “I need some sleep too, and I promised Wonderweiss I’d…feed the…spider. He said I didn’t have to stick my hand in the cage, so I guess I can do it.”

Grimmjow shook his head. “I can do it, you know,” he said as they got into his car.

“Nope, he asked me to do it so I’m going to try, at least,” Shiro said, buckling his belt and putting on a face of determination.

They pulled in and he headed up the stairs and Grimmjow went to find something to eat in the kitchen. There was a squeal and the sound of Shiro running full bore down the stairs. He came running into the kitchen and grabbed his phone off the counter. Grimmjow leaned back and watched.

“Yeah, hey, I need Wonderweiss,” he said with a slight shake to his voice.

“Um, dude, ah, there’s like, um…yeah, do spiders like reproduce by like splitting apart, you know, like amoebas or something?” Grimmjow snickered, already figuring out what had happened. “Molting?” he asked. “You mean they shed their skin and shit?” Grimmjow was having trouble not laughing. “You want me to do what? I am not going to…I mean, feeding it is one thing, I am not reaching in there to take that out. In the refrigerator? You’re serious? Gross, okay, yeah,” he said, putting his phone down and looking over at Grimmjow.

“You go take that molted whatever the fuck it is, and put it into something where I can’t see it and stick it in the fridge. He wants to mount the fucking thing,” he said with a shiver.   “And feed the weird thing while you’re at it,” Shiro said and went into the living room, leaving Grimmjow laughing for the first time in days.

Wonderweiss put the phone down and headed outside with Chairo. Nel and Sajin followed him, having agreed to go for a walk through the town today so he could see it. Eventually they came to a large park and sat down together while Wonderweiss explored. He came suddenly out into a group of other kids who jumped as he stepped out of the brush and looked at them.

“Oh, hey, where’d you come from?” one of them said, a dark haired boy in a baseball jersey.

Wonderweiss looked at them blankly for a moment then pointed behind him and suddenly said, “Over there.”

There were a couple other boys with the first, all three around fourteen or so and they just stared at him. “Uh, okay, so what’s up?”

Wonderweiss looked up and then back at them. “Generally skies and tress,” he commented seriously and looked around.

The three boys exchanged looks with each other. Wonderweiss stared at them for a long while until they all started to look a little uncomfortable. Chairo ran up, getting Wonderweiss’s attention and he kneeled beside him to scratch his head.

“This is Chairo,” Wonderweiss commented, startling most of them into looking at him again. “I have a cobalt Tarantula at home. It molted and scared Shiro. He doesn’t like spiders.”

The boys looked at each other. “Um, yeah, so we’ll see you around, then,” the first, and obviously oldest of the bunch said and walked away.

Nel and Sajin came up behind him and watched them walk away, glancing back now and then. “Make new friends?” Nel asked.

“They seemed to be bothered by something,” he commented, watching them leave. “I’m not sure what.”

They headed home after a while and then Wonderweiss asked if he could go out alone for a while. Nel and Sajin said it was fine as long as he was back before dinner. He headed out again, once again encountering some of the kids in his wanderings. They seemed curious about him and would talk but still seemed a little unsure of how to react to him. Eventually, Wonderweiss headed back.

Sajin was on the porch when he came back. “Hey, where’d you go?”

Wonderweiss pointed downt he hill that the house sat atop. “I was down by the rice paddies.”

Nel had come out by then. “Goodness, you went all the way down there and back already?” she asked, surprised at how much ground the boy covered. He nodded and went into the house. Nel and Sajin watched as evening began to gather until a group of four of the local boys came up to the porch. It wasn’t unusual for the local kids to come by and visit the animals, especially in the evening.

“Um, Mr. Komamaru?” one of them said.

“Yes?” he said, with a smile.

“Um, we met the boy that’s staying here. He’s a little weird,” said one of the other boys. He was quickly shushed by one of the older ones.

“He’s fine, he has autism. He does things a little differently,” Sajin said fondly.

The boys looked at each other. “Oh, okay. Can he come out to play?” he asked. “We wanna play baseball and we need someone else.”

Nel smiled. “It’s almost dinner, and he likes to stay in afterward. Maybe tomorrow?” she asked.

The boys nodded. “Yeah, that’s fine!” the oldest yelled and ran off with the other three.

Sajin sighed. “There’s been talk, you know.”

Nel smiled. “Talk?”

“About the two of us. Everyone knows already and is making up all sorts of guesses as to what’s going on,” he said with a smile. “They try and hide it, but they whisper too loud sometimes.” They had a good laugh and went in to have dinner.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

It was strange how every sensation was heightened. He could feel every inch of his skin and the rough fabric of the skirt they’d thankfully left on him. He felt every inch of the now healing cuts on his skin and the harsh burn of the mark she’d left on his side. That hurt worse than anything else. The wash of cool air came over him and he whined as the blindfold was pulled off followed by the earplugs. He was staring at Quilge this time, by himself. He blinked at the dim light and he was being released from the box.

“See, Bambietta said I could have some quiet time with you before she comes back down. You’re going to learn that I’m the only one that is going to ever take you out of that box, and only because you’re going to be my little bitch,” he said into Ichigo’s ear, making his eyes go wide. “I’m the only one who is going to be kind to you, so I’d get used to it. If you’re good, I’ll make you feel better, I promise, but if you are bad, I’ll make you hurt worse than anything she’s ever done to you.”

By now, he was done with the buckles and yanked him out, sending him sprawling onto the floor. Ichigo wanted the gag gone, but he also knew this was his chance. He could try to get away again. His strength was waning but he still had some will to fight. _Fight him, Ichigo; fight him,_ Grimmjow’s voice whispered in his ear.

He screamed against the gag as Quilge’s hands tried to work their way under the skirt and he managed to shift enough to turn and punch the bigger man right in the jaw, sending him stumbling back. The problem was he was already panting, already exhausted. He tried to get to his feet but the ankle buckled under him. He screamed and then Quilge was on him, straddling his back.

“You ungrateful bitch, I let you out and this is how you repay me?” Quilge growled into his ear and flipped him onto his back and landed a hard punch nose, and Ichigo felt it crack.

He couldn’t scream but he tried, and then his throat was filling with blood and he was choking on it through the gag. Another punch landed and he felt a sharp pain over his left eye. He lost count of how many times he hit him, but when he was done his head was spinning and he was shoved roughly back into the box, blood running from his nose and mouth freely. The bit gag had managed to stop his teeth from being knocked out, it seemed, but he felt the incredible heat and pain from his right cheek and the left eye socket. He felt his face swelling rapidly. Still, even with this, he was unable to feel the worst of the pain, his head whirling with the drugs that were keeping him awake.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Friday morning came too early as Grimmjow’s phone rang. It was Zangetsu.

“Yeah,” he said roughly into the phone.

“Trace is back, we’ve got some possible locations, and you and Shiro get down here.”

Grimmjow was up and dragging Shiro out of bed within five minutes. They headed toward Las Noches and just as they pulled in, another message came from the bastards. He growled, pausing to look.

“He doesn’t want Quilge to fuck him, I guess. But bad boys get beat, so he better be a bit more agreeable next time.” There was a picture of Ichigo’s face, swelling and bruised. He didn’t say anything, just handed the phone to Shiro and walked in. Shiro swallowed and watched. It seemed like an instant calm had settled over him. There was definitely something different about him. He was worried because he knew that this would likely be much more dangerous version of the bounty hunter. He was focused, and woe to any that got in his way.

“Got something!” Ikkaku said, running over with a set of papers just faxed from the lab.

Everyone moved around. “Okay, from what this says the dirt in the wheel wells is unique. It’s from an area where construction of a particular sort has been done, construction with heavy amounts of asbestos. Of course, this means that it’s not recent construction, and for the ground to be this contaminated, it narrows it to about four different locations, all of which center around abandoned construction sites outside Karakura,” Ikkaku said, holding open the map and showing where the four locations were.

Grimmjow stared and pointed to the one furthest to the east. “This one. They’ve been heading roughly north then east since Germany. I’m going there.”

He turned on his heels before anyone else could speak and Shinji glanced at Shiro. Both took off after him, because he wasn’t going at this alone. The other teams quickly formed and soon all were out to investigate the areas in the hopes that they would find something, anything that would help them before it was too late.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

The door opened and Ichigo once more knew he would be tormented. They weren’t letting him die, and they weren’t letting him go.

“Hey there pretty, it’s time to get you ready to travel! Friday morning, my pretty boy. But first, I have to give you a little extra encouragement not to run,” she said, slipping the blindfolded off. “You are certainly a fighter, and I like that, but we can’t have you managing to slip your bonds in any way. For that reason, two working hands simply won’t suffice. Your ankle’s still busted, so you won’t be running, but if you manage to get out of the bindings…it could be bad.” She moved in close, her body nearly pressed against him as he growled against the gag. She reached up and put her hands over his bound ones.

“Oh, still trying to be strong? We’ll see about that. After I’m done with you, you won’t have a lot of fight left in you today,” she said and Ichigo’s eyes went wide as he heard one of his fingers snap. He choked a cry against the gag and then she proceeded to snap the next one. “Oh, I said I had to make sure you didn’t get away? Well, breaking your fingers does the trick, we found out. Hard to untie yourself or get a gag loose when you can’t use them.”

Tears were streaming down his face by the time she was done, and both his hands were on fire. His breath was heavy and he felt the saliva streaming from both corners of his mouth. She kissed his cheek and then kneeled down and pressed against the broken ankle. The pain was intense even with his hands on fire like they were and he screamed against the gag. Then she was touching his other foot. He couldn’t look down to ask what she was planning.

“Yeah, that, Quilge,” she commented.

“Are you sure? He’s not going to run with that busted ankle. You don’t need to break his other foot, I don’t think…” Quilge commented and came into his vision.

“You saw how sneaky the little bitch is. Gimme,” she said and there was a sharp loud smacking sound. Ichigo was sure he should have felt that more, but the binding on his ankle seemed to have cut off some sensation in his foot; he was glad of that.

Bambietta stood up and smiled at him. “Let’s see, lets tighten this a bit,” she said, and yanked the binding on his throat tighter, cutting off about half his air supply. In moments his head was feeling woozy. “There, and a little dose of this,” she said and he felt something warm rush through he IV line and his head began to swirl even more. “Just a little narcotics, my darling, mixed with some amphetamines. Not sure what it will do, but we can’t let you sleep yet, beauty,” she said and without replacing the blindfold she slammed the doors closed, leaving him in his pain. Outside he heard her speak again.

“I need more Vodka for this trip, these Yakuza bastards, you know how they are. He should be pliant enough for you get your dick wet before we pack him in for the trip, just don’t kill him, I’m not done yet,” she said with a grin at him.

Ichigo’s head was swirling and he was feeling so weird. The doors swung open and Quilge was grinning at him again in that way that made him freeze. His brain was working hard to come up with something, anything. Wait, he would let him down, he would let him down, his mind worked out. If he could land a good hit, one that dropped him, he might have a chance. He had seen where she kept the drugs so he might be able to hit him with something and get out. It would hurt, a lot, but he was going to have to push through it if he was going to get out of here alive.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Grimmjow stopped the car outside a large area. A building was half built in the center, and surrounding it were several empty houses. He looked around just as his phone rang. He saw that it was Isshin.

“Yeah,” he said, eyes still looking for signs of movement.

“Grimmjow, I have something for you. A friend of mine just called, long story; best not to ask, and he said that the word came down the pipe looking for a discreet driver to move a living package to a private jet later this morning. He got his hands on the driver and found out that they were going to where you’re at, the area around the granite factory. He replaced the driver, and he’s headed to you now, his name’s Iba,” Isshin said quickly. “I’m calling Barragan and Zangetsu, but Iba will have to be out before they get there. Listen to him, and he’ll lead you where you’re supposed to go.”

“Got it, pop,” Grimmjow said without even thinking and hung up.

The three held their position and waited until they saw a large car come rolling up near them. A man with sunglasses and short black hair got out, and they could see his arms were covered in Yakuza tattoos under his short sleeved t-shirt.

“Down there,” he said, pointing to a building to the furthest east. “I was told to go there and wait in two hours. Good luck,” he said, getting back in the car and driving away.

Grimmjow’s face twisted into a grin and he started heading in the direction on foot with Shinji and Shiro right behind him. A text alerted him that the others were on the way and to wait. Grimmjow wasn’t going to wait. He couldn’t wait. Every second they waited meant that Ichigo was suffering and he couldn’t, wouldn’t, abide by that if he could help him.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

 _Last chance at happiness, Ichigo…_ Grimmjow’s voice whispered in his addled mind. He wasn’t even sure if what was happening was real or just his imagination. He had to believe it was real. He slumped immediately when his arms and neck were released, Quilge whispering filthy things in his ear about what he had planned to do to him. Ichigo swallowed against the bit gag, hoping that he’d at least take it out… Time skipped a beat and he was on his back on the couch now looking up at a rapidly blurring image of the bastard with his high topped pony tail like some sort of wanna be samurai… It pissed him off. He had to gather his strength because he’d only get one shot, he knew it. He let his head loll to the side as Quilge’s hands slid up his thighs. On the tray, there was the tranquilizer she had laid out to use on him for the trip, he was sure of it. If he could get to it, and get it into him…

He nearly gave himself away as Quilge’s hands pushed his legs apart and he kneeled between them. He had to wait…had to wait for the right moment. One of his legs was down on the floor, the left one with the broken ankle, so that was no good. The other, Quilge had thrown over the back of the sofa. Despite the angry red and purple bruising on the top, he was still somewhat numb from the loss of circulation for so long. He swallowed and moved his head back for a second as Quilge was undoing his pants. Wait, he told himself, wait…

Quilge didn’t see it coming. He thought Ichigo was out of it completely between being high on the amphetamines and blurred out on the narcotics she’d given him. So it was quite a surprise when he looked up from taking down his pants to see those brown eyes glaring at him from a partially seated position. He started to move, but he was too late as Ichigo twisted and slammed his right foot as hard as he could into the man’s exposed balls. The sound was a gratifying crunch, and considering that he’d put every last ounce of his strength into it, he hoped he left him with permanent damage. He fell back, eyes rolling up into his head and gagging already. Ichigo rolled frantically off the couch and hit the floor with a slam. He managed to get to his feet, or foot more accurately, and used the sofa to hold himself up. Quilge was between him and the syringe. He didn’t have time; he just had to get out.

He saw the stairs and grit his teeth together and hoped that his ankle would get him at least to the bannister. It was close but he stumbled up the stairs, pulling himself with the bannister and heard a cry from behind him.

“I’m gonna….fuckin…kill you…for that…” and he was trying to get up. Bambietta had left the door open and he was through it looking for a way out, any way out. He slammed the basement door and locked it, hoping to deter Quilge some. Then he heard gunshots as he was shooting out the lock.

It didn’t take long for him to see the front door and he headed toward it. He tried to run but his ankle buckled and he went sprawling across the floor just as the door opened. No, she was back, he though, seeing nothing but shapes and he started to scream as he scrambled back away from the figure coming at him.

“Ichigo, shh, it’s me, its Grimmjow!” a voice near his ear said and he looked up into pools of cerulean and passed out.


	20. There is Still a Light

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue will be posted by next week with final editing completed (I hope) Thanks to everyone that has reviewed and given Kudos!
> 
> Edited 6-9-14

Waking was less painful this time. He was so very glad of that. It was still like swimming through syrup to get to the surface of his mind, but he at least wasn’t in pain. That meant he wasn’t in the box. He would do anything to never be in the box again. He honestly wasn’t sure if there would ever be a time he wasn’t scared about the box. The box would fill his nightmares for years to come, though of course he had no idea how often just yet. His eyes fluttered and he found the light blinding so he squeezed them shut, flashes of being unblindfolded. He heard voices and before long he felt soft touches and he was looking up into cerulean eyes again.

“Hm, hey,” he muttered, his throat scratchy and hoarse.

“Oh, Kami bless, Ichigo,” Grimmjow breathed, putting a hand against his face gently. “We were worried that you weren’t going to wake up. It’s been almost two weeks.”

Ichigo groaned and rolled his head to the side and saw that it was late evening judging by the light coming in the windows. He smiled because sitting beside his pillow was a little stuffed lion he recognized all too well. Grimmjow was the only one in there with him. He had to wonder if he’d left in the last two weeks while he was out of it. “What…what happened to…them?” he rasped, eyes widening slightly.

Grimmjow smiled gently. “You don’t have to worry about them anymore, and neither do I.”

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Grimmjow’s hand was on the doorknob when he heard the shots being fired inside. Five shots, he thought as he slammed into the door. His breath caught and he swallowed down bile because Ichigo was trying to get to the door he’d just come through, it seemed, but had fallen and was looking up at him absolutely terrified. He was screaming behind the god awful gag, so he dropped down and spoke to him and seemed to get through to him because he locked his eyes on him for a moment and then passed completely out.

Shiro and Shinji were right behind him and stepped around as the door to the basement burst open and the bastard they were looking for came out, holding the gun up at the two men standing closest to him.

“Surrender now,” Shiro said. “More INTERPOL agents than your sorry ass can handle are on their way. You’ve got no chance in hell, Quilge.”

Quilge smirked. “Giving up is for the weak, fucker,” he said, holding the gun at Shiro.

Shiro moved faster than Shinji knew was possible. He dropped down and swept the other man’s feet out from under him, the 9mm flying out of his hands as he hit the floor. Shiro was on one mission and that was to inflict as much pain as possible on the bastard as quickly as he could. Luckily for him, he had more than enough training under his belt, both on the streets before he met Zangetsu and afterward when he was actually taught self-defense. He smirked to himself because he immediately noticed that Quilge was protecting his crotch unconsciously. Ichigo had to have got a good shot in on him if that was the case. So it was his prime target, of course.

Shiro managed a strong knee to his crotch, but it was a bit high, knocking the wind out of him instead. It was good enough for him to slam him down onto the floor and land a few solid jaw punches before he regrouped enough to bring up a knee into Shiro’s stomach. He tucked and rolled away, narrowly avoiding a boot to his temple. They were both standing again, and he dodged a few punches, and took a few along with it, and found his nose dripping blood along with his eye swelling shut. The fucker hit like a freight train. However, Shiro was no slouch. He was lithe and able to move easier than Quilge, but it was a blow to his jaw that sent him sprawling finally. Quilge fell onto him, latching onto his throat and grinning at him with blood dripping into Shiro’s face.

“Yo, Quilge’s your name, right, you mother fucker? Consider this your thanks from Las Noches,” came Shinji’s voice just as Shiro’s vision started to blur out. There was a resounding crack and then Shiro was crushed under the bastard’s weight. He heaved a couple breaths and shoved the limp form off of him and looked up to see Shinji in a shooting stance still, a curl of smoke rising from the .22 caliber in his hands. He shifted and stood up straight, and Shiro and Grimmjow both stared at him.

Shiro looked over to Quilge and there was a perfect hole in the middle of his forehead. “Goddamn, Shinji, fuck, what the fucking fuck, did you fucking have a fucking gun…and fucking know how to….fuck!” Shiro said, scrambling to his feet and shaking the cobwebs out of his head.

Shinji smiled and returned the gun to the back of his waistband. “Hey, you never asked if I knew how to use a gun. You think I always pranced around stage in a dress? I was a military sniper until I was discharged at twenty five. I bought Las Noches with my savings the next year. I’ve run it ever since.”

Grimmjow was still sitting with Ichigo pulled onto his lap and he looked up at Shiro and glanced over at the door to the basement. “Shiro, I have to see.”

Shiro nodded and kneeled down, taking Ichigo’s limp form into his own arms while he tipped his head back to stifle his bloody nose.

In a disturbing slice of frozen time, Quilge floated away from himself and he felt strange. Was he dead? A hand touched him and he found himself staring at a face he knew.

“Hi Quilge, remember me?” the short, dark haired boy said. Beside him sat a blue panther.

“You’re dead,” Quilge rasped.

“Yeah, so are you. Time to go where you deserve to be,” the slight boy said, morphing into dozens of people, sickly twisting and writhing around Quilge. He recognized them all; he never forgot someone he killed. He screamed as the earth opened and swallowed him, his last view of the ones he couldn’t destroy in the end.

Grimmjow walked down the stairs slowly. It wasn’t dark at all. He could easily see where Ichigo had managed to get through, things were knocked this way and that and he was sure that if he looked, there would be blood on the floor. He didn’t look. He had eyes for one thing in the room. The box that stood against the wall, the box that they’d tied him into for days. Grimmjow moved toward it as if it was a living thing and in some ways it was a testament to their cruelty. He reached inside and touched the bindings, still slick with sweat and blood. His Ichigo’s sweat and blood. Above, he heard people moving and knew that the others had arrived, but he had a mission. He heard someone on the stairs and when he looked, he saw Zangetsu looking over his sunglasses.

“I’m sorry, Zan. There’s enough evidence to put the bitch away when we find her, I have to do this. They’ll be trace left when I’m done,” he said, picking up a hammer off the table next to it. Zangetsu gave a curt nod and returned upstairs, leaving Grimmjow to what he had to do.

The first swing didn’t do much, but as he kept swinging the hammer he started crying and sobbing as he hit the wooden box. If it could have been them, it would have been better, but he was going to destroy this, this symbol of everything they were.

“You tried to take everyone from me!” he yelled as he smashed in the right side, watching it crumble, metal clamps flying away. “You took my Hana. You tried to take my Ichigo, but he was too strong for you! You made the mistake of playing your game too damned long, and you lost, you fucking lost!” he screamed, slamming the hammer through the back, watching the wood split and fly. He didn’t care; he leaned over and kept smashing it into smaller pieces even though it was mostly collapsed. You took too many! You took brothers, and sons, and friends, and lovers, and enough was enough! You took Shiro’s brother! You tried so hard to take Ggio’s life, but he survived. Ichigo survived! You failed, do you hear me, you fucking failed!”

He finally fell to his knees, exhausted, dropping the hammer and dropping his face into his hands as he sobbed. He felt hands on his back.

“Come on, Grimm, honey, Ichigo’s being transported to the hospital. You need to be there for him,” Shiro said quietly, and helped him to his feet.

Grimmjow nodded and took a deep shuddering breath, wiping his eyes before he went upstairs. He smiled at Shiro. “They failed.”

Shiro smiled. “They failed, Blue, they sure did.”

The hospital was abuzz with the news before the ambulance even got there. Isshin, Rangiku and his daughters were all there already, and everyone else had been told to head to Las Noches for news so they didn’t fill up the waiting room with too many people. Once he was in the ER, Isshin was allowed to go back with him while Grimmjow and Shiro who had both rode with the ambulance waited with the girls. Shinji arrived moments later, having given his statement to the police and showed his license to carry his handgun. They would wait for a long time until Isshin came out to update them.

“It’s bad, I’m not going to lie,” Isshin said, glancing at Karin then Grimmjow. “All eight of his fingers are broken, his left index is a compound fracture, and he may never be able to bend it correctly when the surgery on it is finished. The ankle he already broke has taken a lot of damage and is going to take a full replacement now, there’s not enough intact bone to salvage. Several of the bones in his other foot are broken as well, but nothing too serious. He’s got some pretty severe contusions, in particular where those restraints were used on him. We’ve got him intubated for now considering the damage to his trachea. We can’t tell what the long term effects of the amphetamines they used on him might be. We’re going to at least keep him in a medically induced coma for a week for the worst of the withdrawal to wear off. We don’t know the extent of the mental damage. He’s been kept alive with IV fluids and nutrition, so he’s lost a significant amount of weight in the short time he was held.

“He has some bruised ribs, his nose has been broken, and he’s got a fractured orbital and cheekbone. It seems there is a small amount of fluid in his lungs, which may or may not develop into pneumonia. Time will tell on that. We’re optimistic, but he’ll spend the next week at least in the ICU. Grimmjow, you are cleared to stay with him, if you want,” Isshin said and nodded to him before he left.

A week later when he didn’t wake up once they weaning him off the drugs, they began to worry. Grimmjow was sure he’d wake up, and never let anyone convince him otherwise. There was a steady stream of visitors, everyone coming to see how he, and Grimmjow for that matter, was doing. Wonderweiss and Nel came back with Sajin and Shiro went off about his stupid spider again, saying he went to feed it the night before and the thing tried to eat him. Wonderweiss didn’t have any luck convincing him that Azura just wanted Shiro to pet him. After Wonderweiss was back, Shiro took to spending every other night or so in the hospital room with Grimmjow. Shiro demanded to know what he wanted the molted skeleton for. Wonderweiss told him it was to keep but also tell if it was male or female, and he was happy to say it was female, meaning it would live longer. Shiro looked up him and shook his head. He wouldn’t be dealing with it anymore.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Ichigo smiled at him. “Wow, you stayed here this whole time?”

Grimmjow brushed his hair back from his face. “Of course, baby, why wouldn’t I?”

“I just thought, you know, you got them, and all,” he said, looking down. “I mean, I thought you’d have left by now.”

Grimmjow arched a blue brow and shook his head. “I wasn’t planning on leaving again. Nel’s moving in with Sajin on his farm, and she’s said we can take her house, assuming you want to. I guess I’m assuming you’d want to move in with me, and I shouldn’t do that, I mean, we’ve only known each other for a short while…”

Ichigo reached up and touched him with his bandaged hand. “Shut up, you blue idiot. If you’re staying, I’ll stay with you.”

Just then the door opened and Shiro and Tensa came running over. “Ichigo!” Shiro said, leaning over and kissing his forehead. “Oh my god it is so good to see you awake!”

“Oh, hey, what happened to her?” he said suddenly realizing that Grimmjow hadn’t said what happened to the woman.

Shiro sat down at the end of the bed. “That was a whole other story, Berry-boy.”

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Bambietta was quite satisfied with herself as she drove back to the safe house. Then there were flashing lights behind her and she rolled her eyes. She adjusted her top to reveal a bit more cleavage and put on her best big doe eyed look. She rolled down the window and an officer with dark hair leaned down.

“Ma’am, license and registration for the vehicle,” he asked.

She smiled. “I’m sorry; I don’t have that, sweetie. I’m borrowing my friend Rachel’s car. Here’s her registration though.”

She handed over the information from the glove compartment.   The officer looked it over and handed it back. “And your ID?” he asked.

She nodded and looked through her purse. “Oh no, I’ve left it at the liquor store!” She picked up the bottle of vodka. “They asked to see my ID and I must have left it on the counter!”

She looked at the officer with her best innocent expression. “I guess you’ll have to take me in.”

The officer smiled. “Ah, we’ll let it go. There’s been a rash of stolen cars so we’re making random stops. You just make sure you call that store and have them hold onto that ID,” he said, smiling and going back to his car. She grinned to herself and took off toward the place where they were holed up.

“Fuck!” she yelled as she neared it and saw flashing lights. She turned around and headed back. Kyoto was their meet up point at the airport. It wasn’t the first time they’d been found before they’d split a location. She’d be damned if she was caught now because of that little orange headed bitch.

She arrived at the Kyoto airport and headed toward the hanger with the private jet they had reserved. She didn’t expect the yell of “freeze” behind her. She turned and saw five uniforms with guns trained on her and at least three red dots on her chest.

A man with long black hair and sunglasses stepped forward. He stared at her a long moment. “Are you going to resist arrest, Bambietta?” he asked.

“Why would I do that?” she said, putting her hands up over her head. “I’d just die. I’m not stupid.”

“Apparently your partner was, he didn’t know when to give up. Quilge’s dead,” Zangetsu said with a flat expression.

She shrugged. “He never did see opportunity when it presented itself. See, I’ve done such lovely work over the years. Why would I die uselessly and not get to tell my story? The book deals, and the movie deals, and all the while I’ll sit in a nice, tidy prison cell, fed and kept in clothes, most likely in isolation because I’ll mess with the other inmates. No, we were tired anyone. Time to stop the running. Just so happens instead of taking up residence in the south pacific with my favorite toy, I’ll be in a cell. He’ll still suffer, though. He may not be dead, but he’ll suffer.”

As the INTERPOL officers led her away, every one of the Kyoto police that were there were left feeling cold as she looked over her shoulder and left with an icy smile on her lips.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

“So she’s going away for good?” Ichigo asked.

“She’ll never see the light of day again, and what’s more, the judge put a gag order on her. She’s not allowed to speak to anyone for the next ten years except her lawyer, and then her lawyer has to sign saying that anything said inside the prison cannot be repeated outside the walls. There won’t be any book or movie deals coming her way for a long time like she was hoping for,” Tensa said with a smile, patting the heavily bandaged leg.

The door opened and an overexhuberant Isshin and Rangiku came in. “Ichigo! My son!” he said coming over and taking Grimmjow’s place beside him. He looked up at his father.

“Pop, see, I lived,” he said with a smile.

“Damn right, my son’s one strong boy!” he said, touching his face gently where the bruising was finally fading from his cheek and eye socket.

Ichigo glanced at Grimmjow who was leaning with his arms crossed against the wall now. “Um, pop, I wanted you to know about…” he said, pausing as a coughing fit hit him.

“Easy, son, you developed mild pneumonia from that water dunking you took,” he said as he helped him sit up and get his breath. “And if you’re talking about moving into Nel’s place with Grimmjow, I already know about that.”

Ichigo blinked and looked up. “Water,” he said finally, wincing at the pain in his throat. Grimmjow handed him a cup and he sucked down some of the cool water with a satisfied sigh. He had no idea plain water could ever taste that good. “What, you know about that? He just asked me!”

Isshin held up both hands. “Don’t blame him, it was totally my fault!” he said. Ichigo frowned. “Grimmjow made a slip up a couple times, and I ended up talking to a few people discreetly, and I found out that you and him had finally decided to stop playing around and decide you wanted to be together.”

“He slipped up?” Ichigo said, sipping the water again. It tasted wonderful but made his stomach do funny flips.

“Yeah, I guess I’ve heard you call him pop so many times, I said once or twice,” Grimmjow said, looking away with a slight blush on his cheeks.

Ichigo giggled and then muttered, “ow” because his cheek still hurt. They talked a little more and then Ichigo shooed Grimmjow out to go get some food because he knew he hadn’t been eating right. A little while later he had fallen asleep again when he woke to find Findorr and Apacci sitting by his bed. He smiled.

“Hey you two,” he said, using the controls to sit the bed up a little.

“It’s good to see you doing better,” Findorr said with a smile. “You’ll be up and on stage again before you know it.”

Ichigo smiled. “Yeah, stuck with this for three months at least,” he said, pointing to the cast on his ankle. “But they say after that, it should be almost as good as new. My hands are mending well too,” he said holding up his still casted fingers. “This one,” he said wriggling his left index slightly. “This one might not work perfectly, but it’s not that bad, I guess. How is everyone at the club? Did Shinji open back up?”

Findorr nodded. “Yeah, he opened up the night after you were rescued with first round free night because you’d been found alive. He got crazy drunk, and turns out him and Isane are getting hitched next year. Luppi ended up staying when his family went back after the circus was done. The ended up continuing but every show they were trying to find anyone who had seen something. Eventually it was their efforts led to us finding the van you were transported in.”

Ichigo nodded drinking water gingerly again. “They were all okay, no one got hurt?”

Findorr nodded. “Everyone was fine. Rin actually moved in with Luppi full time now. And looks like Sajin and Nel are going to be married.”

“Married?” Ichigo said. “Wait, I thought she was, you know, asexual and didn’t want to marry?”

Findorr grinned. “So is he. But he wants an heir, so they’re going to marry so that she can carry his baby, artificially inseminated, of course, and it and Wonderweiss will be heir to his family’s farm and legacy.”

Ichigo nodded. “A lot happened,” he said.

“You were out of the loop for three long weeks,” Apacci supplied. “But there’s a reason we came here today, more than just to give you the local gossip,” she said with a smile.

“Yeah, I wanted to know if you wanted to be one of my bridesmaids…err bridesmen?” Findorr said with a smile.

Ichigo was stunned. “But I haven’t known you that long…” he said, blinking owlishly.

“It would be an honor if you and Grimmjow would take part as a bridesmaid and groomsman, I know we haven’t known each other long, but everything that’s happened, I know your heart, and I want you there,” Findorr said with a smile. “It would honor me for you accept.”

“Of course, when is it?” he asked with a bright smile.

“Halloween.”

Ichigo snorted water through his nose. “Halloween, wait that’s like less than three weeks away!” he said with wide eyes.

“Don’t worry; I know you’ll still be in a cast. And Uryuu has promised to make some adjustments for you on the dress for it. Come as you are, as they say,” Findorr said as he left, waving behind him.

The next weeks and months wouldn’t be easy. And there were a lot of long, hard days to come. Grimmjow promised to stay with him through it all, and his Las Noches family was there for him every step of the way. He wasn’t “okay”, of course. He wasn’t able to wear anything on his wrists or ankles anymore, and necklaces had to be long enough they didn’t come close enough to touching the front of his throat. He began to suffer serious claustrophobia and became glad of the fact that Nel’s house had such an open floor plan. They eventually had to knock the wall between the two upstairs bedrooms out to make it larger so he could be comfortable, and both baths had to be expanded. Even then, he had trouble with closed doors. A bit of the paranoia remained, and if it hadn’t been for Grimmjow and his family, he didn’t think he’d have made it through those days.

He had physical therapy, and he had some great days, and some really not so great ones. He had days he screamed and cried and days he laughed until he cried. He fainted his first time on stage at Las Noches, and had a panic attack the first time he had someone crowd him on the floor. He became a little on the hapnophobic side, having trouble with anyone he didn’t know touching him, but it simply was to become one of his eccentricities. If Grimmjow wasn’t with him, Shiro was, never letting him be alone. Ichigo was grateful of that in so many ways because being alone scared him deeply. He’d still wake up screaming at the imaginary people clawing at his skin. Grimmjow would soothe it away. Shinji ended up hiring them both as security at Las Noches, Shiro choosing to retire from INTERPOL, and Grimmjow giving up bounty hunting. He kept enough money from the bounty to keep them afloat for a few months and gave the rest to his partners. Shiro moved in to the downstairs bedroom and helped out around the house and with dating half of Las Noches.

The hardest part of the next months was the trial. He and Ggio were both called to testify, along with Shinji, Shiro and Grimmjow. Bambietta had refused a lawyer and chose to be her own defense attorney, pleading guilty to all charges, and refusing to cross examine any witnesses. Her only witness to call to the stand was herself where she pontificated for nearly an hour before the judge forced her off the stand. Her final words, though, would never leave Ichigo’s mind when she was drug out the room.

“You’ll never get me off your skin.”

There were days, standing in the shower, when he ran his fingers over the fine scars left behind that he wondered how it would feel to open them up again, release some of the feelings that sometimes threatened to boil over. Then Grimmjow would come in and wrap his arms around him gently. Grimmjow knew too well that Ichigo was never truly going to be “alright”. That was okay, though. He accepted that, as much as Ichigo accepted, in some ways, Grimmjow, too, would never be “alright”. They were damaged and scarred people, and they had been everywhere from sanity and every point in between.


	21. Epilogue: Something Borrowed, Something Blue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Please review if you enjoyed this story and keep an eye out for Between Love and Sanity. It will be a while (gotta let the story breathe, you know) but it will be published. I will also link a way to download .pdf, .mobi and .epub versions for those interested on my website when it is finished.

“Go, go, go!” Starrk said, shoving both Grimmjow and Ichigo out through the door. “You’re the last pair down the aisle!” he hissed.

“Okay, Jesus fuck!” Grimmjow hissed at the sleepy looking bartender as he straightened his suit and glanced over at Ichigo in his bridesmaid’s dress, or was it a bridesman’s dress? Ichigo giggled, standing on his good leg and letting Grimmjow take his other arm and steady him as they made their way down the aisle, splitting and taking up positions on either side to wait for Findorr to come down to the wedding march.

The wedding was taking place in one of the larger hotels. The place was beautiful, decorated in flowers and lace with satin and tulle in dark pink and light blue. The bridesmaids’ dresses were long sleeved with a scooped neckline. Ichigo’s had been tailored into short sleeves however. Shinji was Apacci’s Best Man, and Szayel, who had known Findorr longer than anyone else at the club was the Maid of Honor, Man of Honor. Grimmjow was one of the groomsmen, partnered with Ichigo, and Shiro was as well. Partnered with Shiro was Illfordt. Luppi was paired across from Mila Rose, and Tatsuki was paired with Yumichika. Once Grimmjow and Ichigo were in position, Apacci turned and watched as the wedding march began and Findorr came down the aisle.

There was nothing unusual about their wedding, save for the role reversals. The guests were allowed to dress as they wished, and there was an eclectic mixture of clothing to be had. Karin had been relieved that she wouldn’t be the only girl in a suit instead of a dress. Both Lillinette and Yuza had dressed up for the occasion, and Wonderweiss had gone with a brightly colored kimono. It was red and had lovely peacocks on it. He hated stuffy suits, and honestly he didn’t care if it was a girls’ or boys’ kimono. It happed to be a girls’, but of course, no one at the wedding even noticed. Nel and Sajin had both chosen Japanese formal attire, and they were not the only ones. There were dresses, suits, shorts, and slacks around the room. A beautiful afternoon wedding. There was a huge turn out, and after the ceremony was done, they headed to the reception hall.

The happy couple had opted for a tower of cupcakes rather than a tradional cake and as they fed each other bites, they ignored the yells to smash it. They sipped their champagne through interlocked arms and giggled as the bubbles tickled their noses. A beautiful buffet of deserts was laid out and everyone made it through the line and sat down. Shinji stood and gave a lovely speech, followed by Szayel. The afternoon was winding into evening as the dancing began and Grimmjow convinced Ichigo to come out with him.

After everyone was settling down and the night wound on, Grimmjow pulled Ichigo into his arms and sighed. “Was beautiful, wasn’t it?” he asked.

Ichigo nodded. Next week they were moving into Nel’s house. Nel had already moved everything to Komamaru’s farm, and had been tickled that Grimmjow was going to stay around. Ichigo snuggled into his chest and felt Grimmjow start to card his fingers through his hair.

“I’d like to do this,” Grimmjow said thoughtfully.

“Oh yeah?” Ichigo answered, already a bit exhausted. He’d been out of the hospital for a bit now, but he was still recovering.

“Yup, see?” he said and held something up in front of Ichigo’s nose.

Ichigo blinked. It was a ring. It was a ring in a box.

“Grimmjow, is that…are you…?” he sputtered, sitting back.

Grimmjow smiled. “I know you can’t wear it yet, not until your hands are all healed up. But I thought you could wear it on this,” he said, holding up a long silver chain.

Ichigo opened his mouth and closed it again unsure what was going on. “Sure, that’s fine,” he said slowly.

“So is that a yes?” Grimmjow said, arching a blue brow and smirking.

Ichigo stared at him for a minute. “Of course you fucking idiot!” he said and then threw his arms around him. There was a round of applause nearby. Ichigo looked to see they were being watched and blushed bright red.

-oooooo-OOOOOO-oooooo-

Nearly a year later, a healed Ichigo stood in front of a similar crowd. His friends and family surrounded him as he made a promise he would never break. Despite the hard times ahead, he was very happy as his lips met with his husband’s for the first time.

He had something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.

He had his family, he had his Las Noches family, he had a beautiful house, and he had the love of his life.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Between Love and Sanity](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1652474) by [phoenixreal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/phoenixreal/pseuds/phoenixreal)




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